To Discover and Resolve
by cascadenight
Summary: With her problems conquered, Autumn is enjoying the life she wants. Wallace is no longer a rival, she's winning contests in Sinnoh, and Steven's all she's ever wanted. But when trouble strikes in the form of family and Team Terra, she'll find secrets in not only her family but Steven's as well. The past is never where you think you left it, and Steven may not handle the truth.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys! Would you look at who's back? Autumn and Steven. Lol All it took for me to get this going was a song, Resolve by Sleeping At Last, it's a really good song. I suggest listening to it, I love it. Well, now I'm graduating soon and that makes me feel old because I was 15 when I posted my first story. Speaking of Layla, she will be getting a revamp, she'll stay the same but there are many things wrong with that story that need to be changed and fixed. I love Layla and, frankly, I miss writing about her and Morty. Anyways, we're back with Autumn and she's been gone for about half the year. She took a year break since her last Grand Festival, per usual, so she and Steven have been dating for about two years, or so. **

**No, I'm not doing songs for chapters this time around, that's the only change. Everything else is set and I hope you all enjoy this sequel because a lot of fit is going to hit the shan!**

* * *

_Breathe, stay calm,_ Autumn advises herself in the middle of her final battle in the Solaceon Town contest.

Having been here over two years ago, it still brings back some downtrodden thoughts, but she's managing just fine. She had a shaky start, losing some along the way, but has climbed the ladder back to the top.

"Aggron, Ice Beam. Gardevoir, use Swift!" she calls out against her male opponent.

The crowd's cheers surge around Autumn as her pokemon, enjoying their spots on the stage while relying on their training instincts, create a beautiful combination. Marian announces something, but it's lost to Autumn as the buzzer rings just as the jagged beam, surrounded by sparkling stars, engulfs her opponent's Absol and Rapidash. Clutching the skirt of her bright colored sundress, Autumn tries to squint through the black smoke for her pokemon.

With the screen and field completely covered, it all depends on who clears the smoke or whose face appears on the screen. The crowd murmurs anxiously before the smoke suddenly becomes balled up and is split apart; it dissipates quickly, leaving Gardevoir and Aggron standing triumphantly.

"Autumn is the winner!" Marian exclaims loudly just as the crowd erupts with cheers.

"Yes!" the blonde jumps around in her spot before nearly tackling her pokemon gratefully. "Thank you!"

_**OoOoOoO**_

"_Autumn is the winner!"_

"Yes, I knew it!" Steven pumps his fist in the air and hollers loudly for his love.

Having stayed home in Hoenn, Steven often wakes up in the morning to catch live footage of her contests. They are often tense and he hates it when he can't comfort her for a loss or celebrate a win for her in person. But the closer she gets to five, the closer they get to seeing each other for the Grand Festival. He misses her dearly and finds himself not enjoying the loneliness of waking up without her or going to bed alone.

Running a hand through his disheveled bed head, Steven beams at the TV screen, he's always so proud of the job Autumn does. She puts everything into each contest; he loves to watch the determination in her face and the pure joy when she wins. Her body language and commands during each battle are captivating.

And it only makes him miss her that much more.

"Well, Aron, call me when the phone rings," Steven tells his pokemon on his way to his room to change out of his pjs and into his business attire.

The little pokemon grunts at his trainer before shutting his eyes once more and settling into a light slumber. Steven merely snorts at it while shedding his comfy clothes for his usual dressy, business ones. With his dad's business booming and more meetings to get to, Steven can't wait to take a vacation to see Autumn in the beautiful region of Sinnoh.

_Only a little bit longer,_ he encourages himself, hauling his briefcase to the living room table and filing in some folders filled with papers into it.

If Autumn were here, she would make a saucy comment about his dress and case, Lord Arceus his misses her.

Behind him, the video phone begins to ring happily, at least Steven thinks it sounds happy whenever she wins a contest. He rushes over and quickly pulls the phone from its cradle, smiling into the screen as Autumn's face fills it.

"Hello, love," he greets her happily, memorizing her glittering blue eyes, slightly tousled hair and the line of her soft lips... He would kiss those lips if he could. "I miss you."

"I miss you too, sweetie," she hums, taking in his cleanly shaven look, she remembers the smell of his cologne and natural earth scent. She really misses him. "You'll be here soon, I can't wait."

"Neither can I. I am tempted to ditch work tonight and jump on a plane to get there," he leans his head on his hand and stares at her lovingly. "You did wonderful today, I'm proud."

"You say that all the time, I know. You don't have to watch each and every contest, you know," she follows the strong line of his jaw before smiling at him shyly.

"I know, but I don't want to miss anything," he grimaces slightly, his thoughts dipping into their dark days for just a moment. "I'm not the only one, Wallace does, but he's your brother, he should, and Dad does too. Even when we're working late and we miss the live footage, we watch the recording after eleven."

"You guys are too good to me," she blushes, scratching her head sheepishly. "I wish you didn't do that; work is important."

"You come first," his lips turn upward and he leans closer to the screen. "I love you."

"I love you too," she hums.

It falls silent as they stare at eachother contentedly. It's not a usual part of their calls, but it does occasionally happen. Wallace likes to interrupt during these times, but since he's at the League, Steven takes in the details of her face, and Autumn does the same to him. She's very grateful of how supportive Steven is and she understands that he still feels slightly guilty for leaving her, but he has gotten over it mostly.

"You have to go to work," she reminds him with a chuckle. "I'll email you later and call you tomorrow."

"I suppose," he sighs with a grin. "I love you, talk to you later."

"I love you too, later," she blows a kiss before hanging up.

_Now I have to concentrate on work,_ Steven urges himself as he gathers his things and heads out to start his work day.

_**OoOoOoO**_

"Alright, I'm in," Wallace mutters into his earpiece quietly.

His tall, lean, muscled body is clothed in a dark suit supplied by the pokemon G-men. Normally they don't issue special suits, but when Wallace's normal bright colored attire attracts a lot of attention, they issued him one. Though he got a black cape thanks to a certain champion with a certain cape of his own in a certain region. It's not like his, but he can deal with wearing something so odd for a few hours. Besides, it's only for the stealth missions.

"_Is there anyone around?_" an operator from HQ, back at the Pokemon League, questions.

"No, the place is empty. I told you we were too late," Wallace replies, but he still keeps close to the high ceilinged walls just in case. "It looks like it was just used for storage, but for what? I don't know."

"_Try and find out, and then report back._"

Wallace sighs tiredly before stalking through the dimly lit halls silently, his tall frame disappearing around corners until he gets to a set of stairs that leads to a main room that may have been full of crates at some point. Windows line the ceiling, letting in the natural noises of outside and allowing Wallace a little more light to see.

The cement floor is littered with garbage and dust, in certain spots the dust follows a straight line telling Wallace that crates, or something akin to crates, were hauled out of here recently. But right now, he's alone, and his footsteps echo as he approaches a symbol in the middle of the room.

"Halt! Who goes there!?" a voice cries out, and Wallace resists the urge to burst into laughter at the cheesy line.

"It is I, Wallace Mikuri!" he states mockingly, turning around to face two grunts, both male, in peculiar garb.

Both have short brown hair and two different shades of green eyes. The one who spoke earlier is taller and looks older than his partner. They're dressed in black t shirts under dark green cargo jackets and matching cargo pants with black hiking boots to add to their earthy look. Wallace catches sight of a green 'T' logo on their chests.

"Are you mocking us?" the taller boy demands angrily, pulling out a pokeball.

"No, just simply answering your question," Wallace shrugs, allowing his cape to fall forward and cover himself.

"What are you doing here?" he demands again, this time losing his patience, much like Autumn would.

"Just inspecting the place, making sure it's safe," he jokes, glancing around the room.

"You need to leave, everything is gone from here," the younger boy snaps, his voice shaking slightly.

"Then why should I leave? Are you hiding something?" Wallace steps forward, his eyebrows raised.

"No, actually we have a message: You'll never stop us," the older boy silences the younger with a harsh look before pulling out a pokeball.

"I don't think you want to do that," Wallace advises with a shake of his head, as if to deter a kid from doing something bad.

"Rhydon, let's go," he calls out his pokemon anyway.

Wallace clicks his tongue condescendingly, the only time he's like that. He dislikes these evil organizations and would rather not bother with them. They're wasting their training skills on evil, so might as well dispose of them like criminals. Letting out his Ludicolo, Wallace gives them one last chance to leave, an arm sweep towards a door behind the boys they left open.

"Horn Drill," the boy ignores him again.

Rhydon lets out a roar, the drill on its face twirling at high speeds, his large body causing the ground to shake with each step. Ludicolo expertly dodges the pokemon and hits the pokemon with a blast of Swagger. Both Rhydon and the trainers stumble around confusedly before being blasted from the room with Hydro Pump. They disappear in the distance, in the back of his mind, Wallace hopes they land harmlessly. He's not completely ruthless, they were barely in their teens, they can't help it.

"_You know Jenny hates it when you let them go like that,_" the operator returns with a bit of a chuckle.

"It happens, I hate to deal with arrests anyway. Ruins the Champion title," Wallace peaks around the room and finds the dirt and dust hiding something underneath. "Hang on, I'm going to do a little work first, and then I'm going to send you a visual."

He cuts out the line with a push of a button before surveying the ground and beckoning his pokemon over. Ludicolo dances over obediently and grins up at his trainer, patiently waiting for a command.

"Hydro Pump on the floor please."

Rushing out of the way, Ludicolo releases a jet of water onto the ground, it splashes at first until it sweeps the jet over the ground to get a thorough clean. The dirt is washed away to reveal a hidden insignia on the floor. Once the grime is washed away, Wallace returns his pokemon and taps the earpiece to take a picture and automatically send it to base. Technology is amazing these days, and Wallace gets to work with the best of the best.

Scrawled on the floor, bigger than he is tall, Wallace examines the insignia. Not like Aqua and Magma's, it's a giant 'T' white in color with its three points colored three separate colors. The top left point is an earthy bronze color, the right is a steel gray and the bottom: ice blue. The 'T' itself, just as said, is white with seven black dots dotting the body and meeting point of the top line. Four dots form a straight line while three other dots spread like a half circle above the point.

"I can't believe it," Wallace mutters into the piece. "We have more trouble on our hands."

_**OoOoOoO**_

"Jeez, bro. What's wrong? You looked stressed," Autumn comments later on.

Wallace, dressed in his usual garb, is trying to relax in his office in the League building. His hair is a tousled mess atop his head with his hat discarded on the couch in front of his cluttered desk. His dress coat is a bit rumpled and wrinkly, but other than that, he's glad to be back in his chair.

"It's been a bit stressful lately," he sighs, rubbing his face as if to get rid of the stress with one easy swipe.

"What's going on?" Autumn leans forward worriedly.

Behind her, Wallace can see that she's inside a pokemon center room, she just got there given the state of her unopened travel bag and her sweater still being on. He finds that now that he's been trained to be an agent, more things pop out at him, and he picks up a lot of things on a person's face. He's not an expert, but he knows that Autumn won a contest from the hidden smile on her face and the light in her eyes. That's also how she looks when she gets done talking with Steven.

"There's a bit of trouble happening here in Hoenn, and I can't seem to end it all," he explains dryly. "Did you win today?"

"Yes! It was awesome," she cheers momentarily before turning serious. "Now, tell me all about the troubles."

"I wish I could, sis, but I can't," Wallace leans back in his seat. "It's all secret business."

"I want to help, bro," she pleads with puppy dog eyes. "Please?"

"In a bit, how are things in Sinnoh? I see that the media is happy you're back," he quickly changes the subject, though he can't escape for long.

"It's great, better than last time, and the press is being okay about it. At first they were really mean and skeptical, but now they're shutting their mouths and realizing I mean business," she takes the bait, only for the moment. "I'm glad I can get them to eat their words."

"I didn't expect less," Wallace grins at her proudly. "I caught Mom and Dad watching your contest the other day. They were pretty intent on seeing it."

"That's surprising," she comments.

"Really? I thought things were going well for us," Wallace muses, taking a sip of coffee. In the back of his head, Winona scolds him for drinking something so sugary.

"Who are you thinking of?" Autumn interrupts his thoughts, and he sets down his cup, nearly choking on the lukewarm drink.

"What?"

"Your eyes kind of glazed over, like Megan does when she thinks of David, or Tasha when she thinks of that cute intern she gets to train."

"N-no one," he fights the urge to blush hardcore, his sister is as good as him sometimes, even after his training.

"Liar. Can I meet her?" she snorts at him.

"Maybe," he allows her one victory, but not another. "Oh, look at the tim-"

"Don't you even dare, I want to know," Autumn stabs a finger at the screen, her eyes narrowed accusingly. "I want to help in anyway I can."

"Remember when I told you about Aqua and Magma?"

"Yes."

"Well, we think there's another organization out, like theirs but different. We don't even know the name, only the logo," Wallace relays the information discussed earlier at G-men HQ. "I can't share details over the phone line, but all I know is, somethings going on here and I won't be able to handle on my own."

"Jeez, sounds like you need my ninja skills," Autumn jokes, wiping her nose mockingly.

_Actually..._ Wallace considers this for a moment.

His sister, who's nearly to his and Steven's chins, is small and agile. Her stamina from gymnastics and ballet is great. She's able to reach tough places and sneak in and out of buildings with ease. If she's kept it up over the past few years, then her being part of the team might not be a bad idea. Jenny may need to warm up to the idea, but if he and Steven can put in their own input, she can help. Her pokemon can help too.

"Why _don't_ you come home and help?" Wallace leans forward, his eyes widen a bit and Autumn leans back with a confused look on her face. "Have you been keeping up your stamina? Flexibility?"

"Of course, old habits die hard," she scoffs at her brother. "But am I allowed to help with something so official?"

"It'll need to be approved by Jenny, but with Steven and me as references, you should get through fine. We have the gym leaders helping and the elites, plus others who are on the team, you'll probably go through a screening process, but I'm sure you'll do fine."

"What's the screening process like?"

"A medical exam, a physical fitness test and a few other things, not in that order," he lists carefully, the G-men is a pretty large organization, and when it comes to someone with high ranking references, they aren't too strict, but they aren't too laid back.

If Autumn wanted to help but she had no inside connections, it would take months before she could join. She'd have to prove her worth as a trainer and have exceptional skills in the field. Elite trainers and champions are given a much easier time, but they still have to be trained to be a G-man. Some don't even join. Steven didn't fully join, he helped only when they desperately needed it. Like when Team Aqua and Magma were attacking; he may be called on again.

"So, not too bad," she shrugs and contemplates it.

She calculates the very last few contest dates that she'll need to catch in order to qualify for the Grand Festival. Being late June, she is moving fast through Sinnoh, if only to get closer to seeing Steven and then the others back home. But she also has just gotten her fourth ribbon, so three ribbons in six months is pretty good. Of course, she did some sightseeing and a lot of training. Her pokemon have mostly gotten new moves and she improved her relationships with each one of them.

With six months, left she can use the time to help out her brother while relaxing back home again. Depending on how long this problem takes, she can make it back with three months left and get her last ribbon and prepare for the Festival. After all, three months is a long time for a problem like this to drag on. Team Aqua and Team Magma were taken down in less than that time, but then again they rushed into it. A lot can happen in three months... like her birthday.

"Okay, I'll come home, if only for my birthday..." she trails off, Steven immediately popping into her head.

"And Steven," Wallace reads her easily.

He feels his brotherly instincts kicking in, but he brushes it off, he knows his best friend wouldn't mess up something like what they have. He sees the way they interact and react to each other's presence. It's like watching his sister dance. They are completely in love, not like Steven and Megan, but like Megan and Dave. He loves his sister, and is happy that she's found love, they are adorable together.

"Yeah, maybe," she chuckles giddily, which only makes him smile wider.

"I'm glad you have him, sis, you need someone to give you the love you need," Wallace tells her softly.

"Don't get all cheesy..." she trails off, a smile on her face.

"Right, I'll save that for when you get here," he winks at her. "I'll keep it from Steven, don't worry. And I'll pay for your ticket, wait for the email."

"Thanks, bro. I hope I can help," Autumn beams at him.

"There's not much to help with yet, we're still investigating, so it's going to be dead for a while. I trust you'll do fine," Wallace reassures her. "See you soon."

"See ya."

Autumn sets the phone back on the cradle and releases a small exhale in the comfy chair of her room. Despite being happy to go home, she's going to miss being on her own and having no one around to think. The fresh air has gotten rid of her depressed air, and everything is going great. Her parents on are speaking terms with her, she occasionally catches them when they're with Wallace and they greet her formally and ask how she's doing. Which is ok, it could be better, but she's not going to complain.

Steven is everything to her, their relationship is growing strong over the past two years, and nothing could get better. He's her rock and makes her feel special on her worst days and best days. She tries her best to be a good girlfriend for him, giving him massages when he's stressed, listening to his stresses, and getting him out of the house every once in awhile.

So why, then, does something feel off when she thinks about home?

"Maybe, it's because I'm not there," she mutters to herself, getting on her pajamas. "I should go home."

With a glance over at her bag, she catches sight of a small photo of her and Steven days before she left. One look at Steven, and her heart flips in her chest, and her breath catches in her throat.

_Yep, I'm going home._

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**A little early on set of getting things in motion, but, hey, what can ya do? I hope you enjoyed this opener, I'm really excited to be back on track for writing.**

**Until next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Only a few more days of school left for me! I'm so excited to be done with high school, I'll miss it but I can't wait to see what else happens :) So now we're at a slow start, Autumn comes home, hangs out with Wallace and then hangs out with Steven. She's been gone for almost six months, so they miss her a lot. This chapter talks a bit about the G-men, which I hope I can get a good enough explanation and picture for you, they may be making a return in other stories ;) Steven and Autumn run into a tiny bit of trouble at the end.**

**Enjoy!**

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"It's good to be home, eh Gardevoir?" Autumn raises a brow at her pokemon as they walk among the throng of people in the Lilycove Airport.

Her flight took most of the day, and was the best experience thanks to Wallace paying for her first class ticket. Being 5 o'clock, Autumn is wide awake after taking a peaceful nap in her spacey seat and is too wide awake for this time in the afternoon. But all that is on her mind is seeing Steven again.

He's why she took the flight home, and she can't wait to see his smile and smell his earthy scent. The thought gives her chills and her pace quickens, Gardevoir chuckles happily beside her.

"I should change though," Autumn stops in her tracks outside the tall building to look down at her grungy clothes.

Her ratty old sweatpants from long ago are scrunched and have a few stains on them from unknown sources. Her dark blue tank top is now absorbing a lot of heat from the sun, making Autumn feel warmer than she should. Her hair feels a bit dry and unkempt in its pins.

"Hey, sis!" Wallace's voice calls out from the crowd of people and cars.

"Hey!" Autumn gathers him up in a hug as he approaches; Gardevoir wraps her thin arms around them both happily. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Wallace hums, pulling away from her to give her a once over. "You look awake for this hot afternoon."

"Yeah, I'm burning up," she fans her face dramatically before picking at Wallace's cape. "How can you wear this?"

"Meh, I just got here," he shrugs her off before pulling out a pokeball. "Want a ride home?"

"Sure, but since when do you own a flying type?" Autumn frowns at her brother, pulling out her own pokeball to return Gardevoir.

"Since I became Champion and the League permits me to borrow their pokemon," he winks, releasing the Tropius from its ball.

"Work perks," Autumn snorts, climbing onto the pokemon with her duffel bag at her side.

_**OoOoOoO**_

"Devon, it's been awhile," Autumn creepily greets the building.

After showering, Autumn spent time with Wallace at her and Steven's house, chatting about nothing in particular and just enjoying their sibling presence. Then he had to head off to the League and left her across Hoenn in Rustboro because he's her brother and wouldn't leave her after about five months of not seeing her. So now, here she is, anxiously walking up to the front where Tom types meticulously at his desk.

Tom is a thin man with a firm tenor voice that rarely is condescending or rude. His dark hair is usually cut short and spiked in a professional, clean way.

"Hello, Miss Mikuri," he greets with a pearly white smile. "You can go on ahead."

"Thanks, Tom," she beams at him, strolling by happily.

Steven's office sits in the middle of the towering building of Devon; it has a beautiful view of the city and is usually well kept. Each floor is bustling with people filing paperwork and scientists and other workers of the like are busy at their desks or work tables. Autumn enjoys the feel of Devon because people are happy to come to work everyday here. They may do a lot of work and go home late, but they love what they're doing and they're not cheated of benefits. They are in the middle of a busy season right now, meaning that in a few weeks or so they'll be more laid back and relaxed.

But each person knows they need to get the right amount of work done each day so that they get a big break later.

"Hi, Miranda," Autumn greets quietly, sneaking up to the her desk.

Miranda is a short, brunette, slightly older woman with a big smile, beautiful curls, soft voice and thin body. She is Steven's personal assistant and is Autumn's very favorite. Her outgoing personality gives way to her witty side once she's comfortable. Today, Miranda dons a white button up under an emerald green blazer, to match her bright eyes, and a black pencil skirt.

"Miss Mikuri," Miranda greets warmly, her lips a bit glossy under the fluorescent lights. "What can I help you with?"

"Is Steven in?" Autumn glances around carefully.

"I think Mr. Stone is in a meeting right now..." her brows furrow as she types at her little laptop. "Ah, yes. His meeting should be done soon."

"Don't tell him I'm here," Autumn puts a finger to her lips, Miranda gives her a giddy smile, bringing her shoulders up towards her head to join in on the excitement. "And it's Autumn and Steven. Don't be so formal."

"Professional," Miranda corrects, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Reasons why I adore you, Miranda, number 96: you're too cute," the blonde coos at her before turning dead serious. "Autumn, Steven."

"Fine, fine. Go right ahead, _Autumn_, I won't tell _Steven_ a word," Miranda beams coyly as Autumn skips to Steven's office.

"Thank you!" she calls quietly before stepping in.

Shutting the door behind her, Autumn quickly moves to sit in Steven's tall, black and comfy computer chair. His desk is littered with important papers that Autumn knows better to touch. She swivels to face the large window that takes up the wall behind him, the view of the sun setting on the city is perfect. The smell of Steven surrounds Autumn and she melts into the chair and relaxes easily.

The door suddenly opens, and Autumn's heart pounds loudly in her chest, surely it will give her away. She hears Steven exhale with fatigue before setting some things on his desk, she sinks in the chair slowly and waits for him. With her hands at her side, she doesn't move or squeak when his hand appears on the arm and turns the chair around. Face down, hair covering his eyes as he stares at his paper, Autumn takes the chance to clear her throat.

"Miranda is so nice, can she be my personal assistant?" she questions innocently, Steven nearly leaps out of his skin with a low gasp.

"Holy Lor- Autumn?" Steven nearly curses, but his eyes widen when he sees Autumn.

With a laugh, Autumn takes in her boyfriend and his work look, which always gets her going. Dressed in black slacks, he seems to have left his jacket on a chair in front of his desk, his white button up is a bit wrinkled and the sleeves are rolled up to his elbows. His disheveled hair looks as if he's run his hands through it often. Autumn finds she wants to do the same; he looks so good when he's in business mode.

"Hi," she greets him after a short stunned silence of him just creepily smiling at her.

She glances down at herself in case something is out of order, Miranda wouldn't have said anything because she's Miranda. But everything is fine with her lace turquoise shirt, white shorts and gladiator shoes. Autumn had wanted to appear presentable to Steven in Devon, otherwise she would have worn sweatpants and one of his t shirts.

"I missed you," he mumbles, pulling her from the chair by her wrists gently and wrapping her up in a tight hug. "You didn't tell me you were coming back."

"The plans were made yesterday after our call," Autumn breathes in his scent and her knees almost buckle with the crazy warm feeling it gives her. "I wanted it to be a surprise."

"I would have taken off of work," he cradles the side of her head and brushes his lips against her jaw. "I hate leaving you home alone all the time."

"Don't worry, you need to get your work done, that's important," Autumn wraps her arms around his neck, marveling at his warm touch. "I'll be fine, besides, Wallace wanted my help with something."

"That new organization," Steven stiffens and glances down at Autumn, his silvery blue eyes captivating in the receding sunlight. "It could be dangerous."

"Steven, I can take care of myself," Autumn snorts, pulling her hand back to touch his freshly shaven jaw. "I'll be fine, Wallace wouldn't put me in danger."

"I know, I just worry," he smiles, he's desperate to kiss her lips, but he wants to hear everything she has to say and say all that he wants to too. "It's a really busy time, though, I really wish you told me."

"I don't want you to take off work, who knows how long Wallace will need my help? It could be for a week and then I go back," Autumn explains herself, trying not to appear hurt by his words. It's like he's blaming her for no forewarning, but she knew he'd be busy and didn't want him to make himself even busier later. "Would you rather have me stay at the Pokemon League without telling you?"

"No! No," Steven stands up, keeping a hand on her waist and using the other to wipe his face of stress. "I'm sorry, I just really want to spend time with you now that you're back, but it's hard with the season going right now. I have to pick up some slack from other team members, and it's annoying. I really want you here, just not alone."

"I'll be fine, besides, I could always visit Sam. He's always wanting me to come in here and follow him around for a day to see what he does," Autumn points out, leaning back against Steven's desk. He steps between her legs and keeps a firm grip on her waist.

"I wouldn't mind," Steven shrugs, his eyes looking a little forlorn still. "I'm sorry."

"How much sleep are you getting? Don't be so emotional," Autumn cups his face with a laugh. "I'll. Be. Fine! I promise, if I get too lonely, I'll let you know or stay with Wallace or the girls."

"Let me know," he turns his head to plant a kiss on her palm. "I'm just so happy you're back."

"Me too," she trails off, leaning closer to him, he tilts his head down to put their foreheads together. "I missed you... so much."

"I missed you too," he smiles into her gaze before lifting his lips to hers.

Autumn's heart nearly explodes at the warmth and tenderness coming from Steven's lips. She closes her eyes and holds his face to hers as he wraps his strong arms around her to pull her closer. Their kiss goes from tender and loving to aggressive and more passionate. Autumn's head swirls from Steven's scent and she marvels at his sweet taste, filling her mouth and feeding the Beautiflies in her stomach.

"I love you," Steven pulls away too soon and leans over her, his lips tickling at her ear.

"I love you too," Autumn breathes, leaning her head into the crook of his neck.

Leaning back, Steven plants a few more kisses on her lips, each of them sweet and tender, before giving her one last lingering one. By this time, she's sitting on his desk with his hands on either side of her, trapping her.

"As much as I would love to continue..." Steven pulls away just so their noses are touching. "I, unfortunately, have work to do."

"Unfortunate, my butt. You love work," Autumn chuckles, tapping his chin playfully. "Walk me out?"

"Miranda's Ralts will take you home," his assures her, taking her hand and lacing their fingers together. "But, yes, I will walk you outside. I need some fresh air and the chance to exercise my legs is too good to pass up."

"Aww, what a gentleman you are," Autumn teases, leaning into him for warmth.

"I know," he snickers as they stroll out of his office and to Miranda's little area. "Miranda? May we borrow Ralts?"

"Of course, Steven," Miranda gives Autumn a meaningful look before handing him her pokemon's ball. "Anything else?"

"No, thank you," Steven smiles at her, Autumn gives her a thumbs up while they depart down the hall. "It's been awhile since she's said my first name, I believe the last time you were here."

"She's a strange one, that one," Autumn comments as they ride the elevator. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Steven grins at Autumn, one of those heart stopping lopsided ones. "I'll be home late tonight."

"That's okay," Autumn brushes it off, she loves what Steven does and will not get in the way of it. "I'll try and keep warm before then."

"Good," he chuckles in reply before escorting her out of the elevator and through the waiting area.

The night air is warm with a nice breeze that brings along a warning smell of rain for later on. Steven squeezes Autumn's hand as they walk down the main walkway of Devon, towards the front gate. The moon is slowly rising in the sky, giving his hair and eyes an eerie, but pretty silver gleam. Autumn loves that about Steven, the way he looks so captivating at any time.

"I'll be waiting," Autumn grins at him as he leans down to plant a kiss.

"Don't wait up for me, I'm going to be dead tired," he advises lowly.

His lips pause inches away from hers as voices whisper from nearby in the growing darkness. Both of them perk their heads at the sound, Steven urges Autumn behind him and pulls out his Aggron's pokeball. Their eyes train on two young boys leaning sketchily against a light post at the end of the long street.

Both are dressed in dark clothes and seem to be about the height of Steven, maybe shorter. Autumn holds onto his arm as the two approach, their steps careful and calculated. Steven holds up the pokeball like it's a weapon and glares at the two, Autumn finds herself reaching for her own pokeball containing Aggron.

"What are you two doing here?" Steven's voice comes out hard and angered.

"Can't we just walk around? It's a free region," one of the men challenges with a smirk, but it's clear they're up to no good. "What are you going to do about it?"

"You're on Devon property, leave," Steven straightens his back, his eyes narrowed.

"Fine, fine. We'll be on our way," the second man speaks up, nudging the first back down the street.

"We'll meet again," he grins at Steven and then winks at Autumn. "You too, sweetie."

Autumn glares at him, but steps behind Steven as if to block the creep waves emanating from him. The two trainers watch the other two disappear in the darkness before exhaling the breaths they didn't know they were holding. Steven pulls Autumn in closer before releasing his Aggron to check the area.

"That was...creepy," she marvels in his warmth as the large steel type lumbers around, sniffing at everything to see if something was planted.

"We should let Wallace know what happened and _then_ you can go home," he plants a kiss on her forehead. "Let's go, Aggron."

With a grunt, Aggron is returned to his home and, with one last look around, the couple heads inside. Autumn relaxes with her hand in Steven's as he warns the front desk about the problem.

"You okay?" Steven glances at Autumn as the phone rings.

"I'm fine, you?" she gazes up at him, her heart calming down.

"I'm good."

"Well, that's awesome, is that why you're calling me?" Wallace's voice interrupts them, and Autumn grins at her brother.

"No, we just had a little bout with two men outside," Steven leans his head on Autumn's, breathing in her scent. "They weren't much trouble, but it looks like they were scoping out the building."

"I'll get that down and send in a report. Thanks, bro," Wallace nods seriously and looks down to make note about it with one hand. "We're going to be holding a meeting tomorrow with the G-men. I'll be sure to alert Jenny about tonight's confrontation, you two need to be there at noon. I'll let you know what happens in the meeting."

"G-men?" Autumn questions with a frown.

"Right, see you tomorrow," Steven squeezes her hand gently before hanging up. "We'll explain more about the G-men tomorrow."

Without another word, Autumn follows Steven back outside for try two on getting her home. This time there is no interruption, and with one last kiss, Autumn is teleported home safe and sound. Her stomach is warm from seeing Steven and being close to him.

Getting ready for bed, Autumn thinks to herself about the trouble Wallace brought her back for. She's going to have to keep up with her contest training while saving the day with her brother. That and things with Steven felt a bit off today, she doesn't know what, but he just seemed off.

_He's busy with work, duh!_ Autumn scolds herself for her stupidity. _He's just stressed, it'll be fine._

* * *

**Busy, busy, busy. Hopefully Steven will relax and realize that Autumn is patient and will wait. He's such a silly guy XD **

**Anyways, until next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, it's been a while! But I graduated on Friday and it was awesome, yes I teared up a little bit, but that's story for a different time and place ;) So I'm starting to get nervous once again with posting each of these chapters, let me know your thoughts alright? I'm tweaking the plot every so often and I want to know if you're liking it. Speaking of tweaking, since it has been about three years since Layla I have been revamping her plot, as mentioned earlier, and the first story looks good. Now if I can get a just as good, and possibly even better, second story going then that would be even better. If you have something that you really liked and disliked in either of those stories, let me know and I'll try and keep it in. **

**Anyways, in this chapter you meet a bit of what I interpret to be the G-men, it's a bit fuzzy on the details but i think once they appear more and more at the HQ I'll get the hang of it. Autumn will not become part of the G-men completely, she'll be helping so she doesn't need to go into full training mode. Wallace really just wants her in the loop of what's going on.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Morning," Steven's voice rouses Autumn from her comforting sleep. "Wake up, honey."

"Mmph-her," Autumn mumbles tiredly, turning in Steven's arms around her to bury her face in his chest.

"Did you sleep well?" he whispers in her ear softly, his arms tightening around her instinctively.

"Yeah," she sighs, marveling at his scent surrounding her. "Did you? When did you come home?"

"Almost midnight," he ruffles her short hair. "I slept better now that you're here."

"Cheesy," Autumn looks up and grins at him, kissing his chin softly. "I missed it, though."

"Good, that's how it's going to be for a while now that you're back," Steven kisses her forehead sweetly. "Are you ready to see what the G-men are?"

"I'm actually excited, I feel like you and Wallace are part of a secret group of ninjas," Autumn cuddles closer to him.

"It's not as exciting as it seems, there's a lot of paperwork and not as much action," he shrugs nonchalantly.

"Just crushing my dreams," she sniffs dramatically. "I see how it is."

"No, it's more like a realistic interpretation," Steven chuckles, holding her tight. "But it's only partially true. I'm sure it's going to be just as exciting as you hope with trouble brewing."

"Much better," she nods her head curtly before getting up to start her day.

Autumn finds herself falling back into her usual routine: grabbing her clothes and nearly taking down Steven for the bathroom. He usually tickles her to the ground and locks her out to change in their room. After brushing her teeth and hair, Autumn makes them both a hearty breakfast, better than Steven's grade school level cooking.

"Ready to go?" Steven hauls up his business case and jacket behind him while standing in the front doorway.

"As I'll ever be," Autumn joins him at the door.

_**OoOoOoO**_

"You get a lucky break," Wallace greets his sister peppily at the League's front gates.

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" she questions, eyeing the towering building of the League.

Stretching towards the sky, Hoenn's Pokemon League, located in Ever Grande City, is not only tall but wide. It overlooks the site where the Ever Grande Conference is held in the middle of a large lake down below, and beholds the battles that take place between challengers and the Elite Four. Ever Grande City itself is a beautiful city that's thriving on its own little island way out away from Hoenn.

"They are going to ask you a few questions and explain a few rules to you, since you're not going to be a permanent member, they just want to make sure you know the basics," Wallace explains. "This is much better."

Autumn takes in the info thoughtfully as they walk into the League, the tall ceiling and pristine decorations greet her readily. She has only been here a few times before, but each time it looks nicer and nicer. Steven glances around with warm familiarity and memories of working there before. The League is a welcoming place where competition is encouraged and everyone is helpful.

"So the League is the G-men HQ?" Autumn questions, following her brother to a doorway in the corner of the room with a plaque saying 'Authorized Personnel Only'.

"It's a front, the HQ partially runs underground," Wallace explains, holding the door open for them. "You'll get a temporary badge to be allowed back here, but you won't be allowed everywhere. Jenny runs the G-men, and I'm like second in command. I help give orders and make big decisions. Steven had that job too."

"Yeah, it was a joy," Steven states sarcastically, Autumn nudges him playfully.

It falls silent as the trio walks down a long corridor with closed doors on either side of them. When they reach the end, it branches off into a 'Y' shape with a few more rooms down the two branches and then a door standing in the middle. Autumn finds that layout unique and is curious as to what the room in front of her looks like.

"This is the main control room," Wallace informs her, opening the door to reveal a busy room.

There are a few rows of computers along the front with a large monitor hanging on the front wall facing them. Stepping forward, Autumn gets a view of the computers from the raised platform. On either side of the platform are stairs leading to the main floor, in front is a rounded curve of touch screen monitors displaying information that looks very important.

Autumn stares in awe of the high tech room. Operators are busy running around everywhere passing on information and gathering more.

"This is so cool," she whispers, and Steven laces his fingers with hers.

"Feeling ninja yet?" he mutters in her ear, she shivers at his voice.

"It's getting there...do I get a cool suit?"

"Not unless it's a dire situation," a firm voice responds from behind them.

Turning around, while keeping her hand in Steven's, Autumn greets Officer Jenny with a shocked smile. Usually the family of officers is in a miniskirt, pumps, and their police coats, but this Jenny is different. Keeping the same color scheme, Jenny sports blue dress pants, work shoes and a blue button up shirt with a red stripe and her badge shining on the front.

"I'm Jenny, nice to meet you," her voice is a bit lower than the others, and her demeanor is less nitty gritty and more relaxed.

"Autumn," the blonde grins, shaking the officer's hand with an equally firm grip.

"Come along, then. We want to get you the basics as soon as possible," Jenny urges her; a man comes walking up the steps. "This is Agent Brooks, he will be going over everything you'll need to know with you in a conference room."

"Pleasure to meet you," Brooks kisses Autumn's knuckles softly.

Autumn frowns at him, his mop of dark hair is neatly swept to the side, revealing pretty light brown eyes and a charming smile. But she's not the one to go for cocky types like him, it makes her glad Steven isn't like that even though most in his position are. Retracting her hand from him quickly, she gives him a cold smile, a warning to back off.

"Nice to meet you too," she states dryly, Wallace snickers quietly and Steven relaxes his tense muscles.

"Let's get started then," Brooks straightens his back, message received, and holds the door open for her.

Planting a kiss on Steven's cheek, Autumn walks out of the room with a smile and a wave at her brother. Brooks follows her without another advance, making Steven happy that Autumn took a stand like that. Jenny turns to the boys and offers them a hard smile, serious work has to get done.

"We have a few agents around in Rustboro keeping an eye on any activity there," Jenny beckons for them to step aside and let her get to the control panels. "Right now, there is little to no activity which is rather odd and very frustrating. In the past, many organizations tried to draw attention to themselves by causing trouble or targeting busy locations. But this one is different, they pick up activity in small towns and nearly abandoned warehouses."

"So they're trying to keep under the radar? Where have they been so far?" Steven questions, staring at the big monitor.

"The first incident was an old Aqua and Magma hideout. We were trying to clean out any evidence of them ever being present. When we got there, it was being repaired as a training ground. A new insignia was emblazoned on the floor," Jenny answers, a hint of anger in her voice. "Immediately they went into action and left the base before we could even lift a pokeball."

"Wow," Steven jerks in surprise at the news.

"An alarm was triggered, and they abandoned in any way they could," she shrugs, pulling up some pictures that they managed to take. "The only relief was that there were a few familiar faces."

Positioning a few of the pictures, Jenny pulls up three familiar faces for the trainers to see. Wallace's fists tighten, and Steven clenches his jaw angrily, faces of Magma and Aqua admins fill the screen. Matt, Tabitha, and Courtney.

"It seems as though they have come together for a new, common goal," Jenny states rigidly. "We don't know what their ranks are or how important they are to the group, but we need to find out soon enough."

"Are there any leads at all?" Wallace demands. If Aqua and Magma have come together, given the destruction they wrecked on Hoenn last time, then he wants to take them down before it happens again.

"They all lead to dead ends, their movements are erratic and inconsistent," Jenny sighs in frustration. "We always show up too late to get any kind of information."

"Well that's annoying," Wallace comments, Steven glances at him quickly, he and Autumn have the same mannerisms. "So what are we supposed to do? Go on patrol? Keep our eyes wide open?"

"Unfortunately, as of right now, yes. The rest is what we will discuss later," Jenny states, rubbing her tired eyes. "Come with me. I want to go over the info we have obtained and some future plans."

_**OoOoOoO**_

"Jeez, that was an intense crash course," Autumn exhales, her hair rushing up from the short gust. "Brooks is weird."

"Only when you first meet him, he can grow on ya," Wallace winks playfully, ruffling her hair as she stands between the two men. "Want to go for a celebratory dinner?"

"I'm starving," Autumn nods, rubbing her growling tummy.

"Sure," Steven agrees, holding up a pokeball. "Sootopolis?"

With a nod of agreement, the group heads off on separate pokemon to the city within a crater.

"Sinnoh and Hoenn are so different," Autumn nods, taking a sip of her water, their orders have been made and now starts the long wait of hoping the waitress is walking towards their table. "There's so much more land to Sinnoh, thank Arceus. I like water and swimming."

"I can't wait to see the scenery," Steven comments with a gleam in his eye, giving Autumn a pointed look.

"Jeez, not even a subtle attempt in front of her _brother_," Wallace snaps at him jokingly. "Get a room."

"Don't tempt us," Autumn snickers, leaning on her palm, her other arm crossed in front of her. "So what have you been up to the short time I've been gone?"

"Five months is hardly short," Steven points out indignantly. "Working, battling, searching for stones... the usual."

"It's a wonder you have a girlfriend," Wallace nudges his arm before answering. "Training, paperwork, battling, eating... the usual."

"It's not a wonder you _don't_ have a girlfriend," Steven retorts with a nudge back.

"Actually, I suspect he's fawning over someone!" Autumn points out excitedly. "But he won't tell me, which isn't fair."

"How is it not fair?" Wallace challenges with a raised brow.

"You knew we loved each other before we did," she states, pointing to Steven and herself with a slight blush on her face.

"You guys are blind, that's not my problem," he shrugs, casting a nervous glance at Steven who has been silent the whole time.

"Winona," he states simply. Wallace's face flushes, and Autumn stares at Steven with wide eyes.

"How did you know?" she gapes, their waitress comes up to them and hands out their sizzling plates of food. Wallace is grateful for the short break as each of them dig in.

"It's obvious, when I was Champion, he would go out of his way to make sure Winona was present. He would flirt endlessly and act like a gentleman," Steven grins at his best friend, his lips turned in a sly smile.

"Of course I was a gentleman, that's how you should be too," Wallace chuckles lightly, a blush still dusts his cheeks.

"I want to meet her," Autumn states firmly. "She sounds wonderful."

"She is," both of them state simultaneously, making Autumn stare at them with narrowed eyes.

"I'm only saying that from a work oriented point of view," Steven clarifies, grasping her hand gently. "I love you."

"Yeah, sure," she playfully rolls her eyes. "I love you too."

"I'm saying it from the same point of view as well, I haven't hung out with her in my free time," Wallace elaborates with a hint of disappointment.

"Maybe you should be asking her on a date right now instead of sitting here with us!" Autumn states incredulously.

"I have to go to the League in two hours; it would be pointless," he shrugs his shoulders, solemnly eating his burger and fries.

"It's going to work, I'll make sure of it," Autumn promises him, a sly gleam in her eyes.

"Uh oh, she's not goi-" Steven laughs, wiping his mouth with a napkin, before his pokenav rings in his pocket. Leaning back in his seat, Steven answers professionally. Autumn giggles at his voice. "Steven Stone."

Wallace and Autumn make funny faces at him, he allows himself to smile but doesn't break his concentration. The exchange is short and quick, Steven doesn't say much aside from 'Mmhm', 'I understand' and other talk about some appointments. Autumn feels a bit sad at his having to depart, but drops it. It's work, she can wait until the busy time is over. Just two or three more weeks.

"Sorry, an appointment got moved up," Steven sets some money down on the table as he stands. "But I'll be home earlier."

"It's okay, have fun," Autumn reassures him as he leans over, planting a kiss on her lips. "Tell Sa- Dad I say hi."

"I'll be sure too," he grins at her, happy that she's opening up to his father, and plants another kiss on her forehead.

"Do I get one?" Wallace pouts his lips, Steven leans over and pats his shoulder before taking his jacket and leaving. "Jeez, you guys are too cute, and it's disgusting."

"I'm going to be saying the same thing about you and Winona!" Autumn points out, her skin seeming to glow from her interaction with Steven.

"I told you, I don't see her much," he huffs indignantly.

"Why are you so shy?" Autumn questions, her interest peaking at her brother's insecurity with Winona.

"I'm not, she's just so smart and straightforward. Nothing gets past her," Wallace admits, leaning back with a fry in his mouth. "Plus she seems uninterested... Let's talk about something else."

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Autumn questions, polishing off her pasta quickly and pocketing Steven's cash.

"Are you paying for his and then taking his money?" her brother raises a brow at him.

"Yeah, what are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing, I'm proud of you little sis."

With a laugh, the duo pays for their lunch, and Steven's, before setting out on the city at a relaxed pace. Autumn is worried for her brother, not wanting to talk about something isn't common for him. He must be really worried about Winona liking him if he doesn't want to bring it up.

"How long do you think this trouble will take?" Autumn brings up, her arm linked with her brother as they walk down mainstreet.

"I'm not sure, but you will be able to leave for Sinnoh on time. I promise," he pats her hand softly as they turn a corner onto a quieter street.

"I'm not too worried about it, I was just wondering," she replies, taking in the street and then stopping as a group of two with black t shirts and dark green cargo pants rush into a bookstore. Nothing to worry about, but Wallace stiffens at her side immediately.

"Did you see the logo on the shirt?" he mutters quietly, and she shakes her head. "I thought I saw a green 'T'. Let's check it out."

Looking both ways before crossing, the two rush by and then duck into the library without being seen by the duo. Autumn and her brother duck between the shelves and cases of books to find the two sitting a table in the far corner. Separating a few books to get a better look, they both settle down on the ground to watch and listen.

"Why don't we just storm them?" Autumn questions quietly, Wallace shakes his head.

"If we do it too early and they get away, we'll have nothing and we failed. If we hear as much as we can and then ask them, that's better," he explains before putting his finger to his lips to silence her.

Straining to hear them, Autumn picks up conversation about decoding a message of an old system. It mildly confuses her until they sit down at the table and become silent, looking from the paper in the middle of the table to the books in front of them. Wallace stares at them intently before turning to Autumn.

"I'm going to go talk with the clerk, when I come back I want you to go up to them and demand what they know. So if they try to get away, I'll stop them," he instructs firmly, when Autumn nods, he disappears to the front.

Settling back in her spot, Autumn goes back to watching the two intently, their movements are slow and concentrated as they glance between paper and book. They must be deciphering something, but what? And why would they need two people to get it done? It intrigues and excites her.

It takes a little longer for Wallace to come back, but when he does, Autumn gets up, after a little encouragement, and walks over. Her heart rate picks up, and her adrenaline rushes as she approaches them confidently. The two don't notice her approach. The girl is hunched over the book reading while the other is deciphering something, all Autumn catches a glimpse of are some dots. Without giving herself enough time to turn around and run for her life, Autumn clears her throat.

"What is your business here?" she questions.

_Stupid, Autumn, stupid! What just came out of your mouth!?_

"Who are you?" the girl sneers, and the guy snaps his head up.

"Are you with the G-men?" he demands angrily, his dark eyes narrowed at her.

"I asked first," Autumn crosses her arms, maybe she should have listened to Brooks about the right way to get information out of criminals. Just her luck.

"We're not going to tell you anything," the girl slams the book shut and clutches it to her side. "Get out of our way."

"No," Autumn doesn't move.

The boy pulls out a ball only to slam it onto the ground. Suddenly, smoke fills the library. Autumn covers eyes and coughs violently, the girl tries to shove past her, but Autumn makes a grab for the book. Using her leg strength, Autumn pushes the girl back, knocking her off her feet and making her release the book. Autumn tumbles over her, the book secure against her chest.

"Get up!" the boy snarls at the girl, pulling her to her feet, their footsteps recede to the front.

Autumn forces herself to her feet and squints into the thick, black smoke surrounding her. Pulling out a pokeball she lets out her Altaria. The pokemon immediately clears out the smoke to reveal Wallace knocked out on the ground. With a cry of fear, Autumn rushes to her brother.

"Wallace!" she cries, glancing around the store only to find it empty.

"A-Au-t-tumn?" Wallace mumbles in disarray, he touches the back of his head and flinches. "I-I was hit from b-behind."

"Where's the clerk?" Autumn stretches her back to look over the counter, only the place is empty. "I have to call the police."

He only nods in agreement and relaxes with his head on her lap. Altaria keeps on alert as Autumn carefully wrestles out her pokenav. Her heart is racing and her hands shake, but she is able to supply the appropriate amount of information and wait patiently for the police, and ambulance, to arrive. Everything passes by in a blur. Autumn finds herself sitting at a table with her brother being looked over; Jenny and other policemen are investigating the scene with the book the girl was holding sitting in front of her.

_A book on Hoenn Legends and Myths,_ she reads to herself, opening up to the first page in a daze.

"Miss?" Jenny approaches, at first Autumn thinks that they've met, but all Officer Jennies look alike. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just a bit shocked. How did he get hit?" Autumn glances at her brother, sick with worry for him.

"It looks like the clerk didn't really work here. He was just a guard for the other two," Jenny informs her. "Can you tell me what she looked like?"

"No, I wasn't paying attention to her. Wallace was the only one to really talk to her," she grimaces at her brother's state. "Is he going to be okay?"

"Luckily, he doesn't show signs of a serious concussion. But he'll have to be looked after for a few days just to be sure," Jenny relays the information she was told just before talking to the bleach blonde woman. "Will you be okay? Do you want a ride home?"

"Can I talk to him?" she questions first, Jenny nods her head solemnly. "I'll get back to you on that ride. Thank you."

Jogging to her brother on the curb outside, Autumn waits patiently for the medics to finish looking over him. He looks so tired, but it doesn't seem too serious, and Wallace kind of has a hard head. Autumn quells the shaking of her hands and walks up to him after being given an okay.

"Are you okay? How does it feel? Do you have a concussion?" she quizzes worriedly, and he pulls her into a reassuring hug.

"I'm fine, it's just a bump. I have to take it easy for a while, they say I should have someone around to make sure I don't have a concussion," he soothes her, cupping her face in a brotherly manner. "I've been through worse."

"Ok," Autumn calms down a bit. "Jenny wants to know if we need a ride home. Do we have to stay at Mom and Dad's for tonight?"

"I think that would be best because it's nearby, at least until the end of the day tomorrow," he grimaces before grinning. "But hey, things are good now."

"Yeah, it's been awhile since my last visit five months ago," Autumn states sheepishly. "I'll go let her know."

Jenny arranges for them to be driven up to their parents house. Jenny at HQ is alerted to all of the events of last night as well as the store owner. Autumn purchases the book and heads home with Wallace.

"Wallace, Autumn! What brings you here?" Sherri, their mom, greets them with a sweet smile. Autumn is taken aback by it, but brushes it off to explain.

"Wallace was hurt while on a self declared mission; we didn't want to teleport or fly in case it would make it worse," she helps Wallace to the stairs. "Can we stay here for tonight and part of tomorrow?"

"Why would you ask such a thing?" the blonde woman rushes over and helps Autumn help Wallace up the steps. "We have some old clothes of yours you can sleep in. You too, Autumn."

Wallace is taken to his room, telling both women to back off and that he's fine, while Autumn heads across the hall to her room. Changing into shorts and a tank top, Autumn turns to find Wallace standing in the doorway. She gasps in surprise and nearly swears at his face.

"What is wrong with you!?" she nearly drops to the floor in surprise.

"I was just checking up on you. I saw you bought a book?" he questions, eyeing the small bag on her desk.

"You need to rest for the rest of this beautiful afternoon," Autumn scolds him. "I'll tell you about it tomorrow if you're feeling okay."

"I feel fine, just tired," he yawns, rubbing his face tiredly.

"Exactly, you should allow your head to heal up. I'll tell you tomorrow," Autumn steps up to her brother and hugs him tight. "Go rest."

With a dramatic sigh, Wallace trudges back to his room, muttering unintelligible things under his breath. Autumn smiles after him fondly before going to her bed and using Wallace's laptop, which she stole from his room while he and Mom were helping her in. Opening up a browser, Autumn logs into her email and gets ready to email Steven.

_**Hey**__, _a chat bubble pops up from Steven, Autumn smiles giddily to herself like a schoolgirl. **What's goin' on?**

_**Wallace was hurt today, I'll explain more tomorrow but we're staying at my parents house, **_Autumn replies back. _**Just thought I'd let you know so that you didn't think I was kidnapped.**_

_**Is he okay? Are you okay?**_ his reply is fast.

_**We're fine, he has a bump on his head and I didn't want to fly him or teleport him anywhere. So we're stuck here...Shouldn't you be working?**_

_**This meeting is really boring, I get to go home after this. What am I going to do without you?**_ Autumn feels sad about missing out on seeing Steven, but it's just one night.

_**I would invite you to stay the night, but that would be awkward. Come over in the morning, if you can, I found some stuff that you should see.**_

His next reply takes a while and Autumn wonders, excitedly, what he is going to say.

_**Okay, and I hate to do this over technology but would you give me the honor of going on a date with me tomorrow night? We haven't had a proper night together since you got back.**_

Autumn's heart leaps into her throat at his words, over two years and he still makes her crazy.

_**Tacky, just kidding, I'd love to go on a date with you. Remember, I'm really back to help the G-men.**_

_**I know, but it doesn't mean you can't relax and go on dates.**_

_**You're talking to me about relaxing? But I see your point, I just don't want you to feel like you're abandoning me for work. You're not, and soon I'll have my fifth ribbon and be entering the Grand Festival!**_ Autumn grins at those words and watches as it takes a few minutes for Steven to answer back, probably tuning back in for something important.

_**I'll try not to, I have to go now, sweet dreams. I love you. **_

_**I love you too.**_

Autumn smiles warmly at the screen as Steven signs out and she follows, shutting the laptop with a grin. Setting the computer on her old desk, Autumn shuts off her lamp and lies down on her bed. It feels odd being back in her old bed, still made from the few times she and Wallace house sat while their parents were out. She got used to nights without Steven there during her five months in Hoenn.

Glancing at her door, she finds Wallace's light off and barely a noise coming from the house. Curling up by herself, Autumn thinks of Steven and what he may have planned for their date to help her drift off to sleep.

* * *

**Let me know what you think! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the long wait! I was so busy with grad parties and then college orientation, I can't believe I'm saying that _college. _I started on her at the end of my sophomore year, ugh I can't believe how time flies. But anyways, I just realized that I'm typing chapter 9 and you guys have yet to see four, five, six, seven and eight XD So here we are, there is going to be a bit of crazy, mystery here in this chapter, in the beginning, and a little bit of insight to the trios. Just a little bit. And then there is Steven and Autumn cuteness at the end which I'm sure all of you have been waiting for ;)**

**Enjoy!**

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The sun alerts me to the coming of morning; my eyes lids drift open, and I groggily sit up in my small bed. Having slept well and throughout the night, I find myself not wanting to try and sleep a little longer. With no one else awake in the house, I quietly slip from my bed and wander about my room.

It's times like these that I like to my explore surroundings and dig up memories that make me happy or sad. I do the same at my and Steven's home, remembering the good things and the slightly bad. Either way, I need to kill time until my brother wakes up and Steven gets here to tell them about the book.

"Hmm..." I tap my chin thoughtfully before retreating to my closet, knowing full well Mom turned it into storage the moment I left.

The morning light brightens up the crowded clutter, and I feel a bit excited to look at a past that was put behind me. It's almost like a test to see if all I went through was worth it and true.

Pulling out one labeled 'Albums', I haul the slightly heavy box to my bed and whip out the first thick book on top. Turning to the first page, I find, no surprise, that it's all decked out for Wallace's stuff. There's a slight pang in my heart, but I brush it off; these are from a long time ago, of course they're about Wallace.

Flipping through the pages, I find a lot of baby pictures of him, a lot of it good blackmail material. He was so cute, it's a wonder what happened to him...

"Jeez, were these taken every five minutes?" I whisper incredulously, in some of them there's a full page of Wallace doing random things in the same clothes and setting as the previous. "Where are his birthday pictures?"

Flipping further into the book, I suddenly come across Wallace's third birthday party. I was one back then and, of course, was all dolled up for my brother's party in an outfit I'm sure he picked out. He was always such a good big brother to me, the one that everyone wanted but I wouldn't share.

Adjusting the heavy book, the pages are so thick _and_ filled with pictures, I set it on the bed to ease the weight off me. The pages are tinted to look soft cream and older, but the pictures are kept in mint condition. I run my hand along the pages, feeling the raised spots where pictures are as if to conjure up a memory by a single touch.

Outside, some Wingull let out their morning cries and I find myself smiling at the familiarity of it.

"Oh, jeez. Cheesiest smile ever," I snort, glancing at a picture of Wallace and me.

He's got the biggest smile on his face while holding me on his lap with his cake, decorated to say 'Happy 3rd Birthday!', in front of us. For a one-year-old, I look pretty happy to have my brother nearby. A smile fights its way to my lips and I touch the picture to commit it to memory.

I'm running my hand along it when I find that there's a smaller picture behind it. Its little indents are felt when I run my finger along the middle of Wallace's picture. With a frown, I check the next page to see if it's from a picture placed in the same spot. But the next picture is bigger, one of Wallace running around with just a diaper, more blackmail.

With another frown, I study the shown picture to see if maybe it was bent and the creases are still there. But that doesn't make sense. Holding the page straight up I find that the clear covering over the page wasn't folded over correctly. Lying the page flat, I peel back the covering and lift up the first picture to find a second one, smaller and a bit older. My heart pumps with excitement at the new development. Though it's just a picture, probably of Wallace, it's fun to think that there was a misplaced one. Maybe it's really embarrassing. Ahh, blackmail.

Pulling out the smaller picture, I lay the plastic covering down and put the book back in the box.

But the picture isn't of Wallace, no more blackmail, it's me on my first birthday, which is a month after Wallace's. Although, there seems to be an inconsistency with it. Mom's hair is past her shoulders in this one. In Wallace's, she had hair shorter than mine. There is no way hair can grow that fast.

Squinting at the picture, I find that the setting is completely wrong as well. Wallace and I have lived in this house for our whole lives, and I've never seen a room with a view of the gates of the Safari Zone. My party was outside this house. It was small, but it was here. They wouldn't take their one year old on the Safari catching game. My parent's are that crazy.

Flipping over the picture to find a date, I jerk in surprise to find the date completely wrong. Three months and four _years_ wrong from my date of birth, making it seem like I'm three years older than Wallace when he's two years older than me. This picture is all kinds of messed up. And yet, it seems like it's not. This is my mom, and this has to be me.

Same blonde hair, blue eyes and pinchable cheeks. I mean there are subtle differences in the smile and weight, and this picture makes me look a bit taller, not to mention my hair is a little curlier than I remember from other pictures and it looks like I grew more teeth... Something is wrong.

A knock on the door makes me nearly leap out of my skin before I shove the photo into my pocket and put the box back in its place. Glancing at the clock, it reads noon to me. Noon and no one is up? Jeez.

"Steven!" I cry out happily, and quietly, and wrap him up in a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I was worried and wanted to know what happened," he shrugs, returning the hug, his arms around my waist grip me tightly.

"Why did you knock?" I lean back, keeping my arms around his neck, and frown at him, his bluish, slightly green eyes looking me over for injury.

"Jeffrey didn't give me a definitive answer as to where your room was and I wasn't sure I remembered," he blushes a bit, his hair dusting at his eyes. "It would have been really embarrassing if this was your parent's room."

"Yeah, that would have, and I would have died laughing," I reach up and kiss his cheek. "Wallace was the only one hurt yesterday. I was lucky."

"Does he have a concussion?" Steven lays his head over mine and I breathe in his scent.

"We should probably check that now," I comment, but neither of us move. We chuckle after a few moments. "Shows how much we love Wallace."  
"We're just giving his brain a few more moments to heal," Steven reasons, bringing a hand up to tilt my head back. "We're considerate for doing that."

"Or I could be dying," Wallace interrupts us, not the first time, nor the last, leaning against his door's frame. "I love you too."  
"Wally!" I run to him and hug him tight. "You're okay!"

"Yeah, yeah, nice try," he scoffs but squeezes me back anyway. He knows I was really scared for him. "I just needed some rest and I'm good to go."

"Hard head," Steven coughs mockingly, taking my hand as I step to his side. "How are you feeling?"

"Traitor... I feel fine," Wallace returns the gesture but finishes with a smile. "But Autumn here has some things to explain."

"Oh yeah!" I snap my fingers and let go of Steven's hand to find the book I bought on legends and myths yesterday.

The picture feels warm and heavy in my pocket, but I force it away, not here and not now. I need to talk with Wallace first to see if I'm just missing some major detail, maybe it's a prank or something. I'm not telling Steven in case it's really nothing, I don't want him to worry over it.

"But first, I need to brush my teeth and eat food," I march past them holding the book.

Wallace follows my lead and both of us brush our teeth together like in the old days, except he's not hoisting me up to help me spit into the sink. Instead, we make faces at each other while Steven watches from the hall, an amused smile on his face. After that, an order is sent to Jeffrey, bacon and pancakes for breakfast with some juice sent outside while we three talk on the patio.

"Where are your parents?" Steven wonders idly, sitting next to me with Wallace across from us.

"...Good question...work?" I frown. I completely forgot that they get up early to head to work. "Yeah, work."

"Anyways, what's in the book?" Wallace says, not really worried about our parents' whereabouts.

"What do you think?" I hold up the cover for him to see with a smile. "The girl was looking through this while the boy was deciphering something."

"Do you know which one to look for?" Steven questions.

"Kind of, I saw that he was deciphering dots onto a separate sheet of paper, but he took that book and what he was doing with him. I know for sure it was Braille," I relay the info as if it's life changing. "But there's a problem, there are so many legends in Braille that it's next to impossible to know which one he was deciphering."

"Are the legends related?" Wallace questions next. I glance at them and nod.

"Yeah, I'm surprised you haven't said it ye-"

"The Regi trio," Steven interrupts with a smug smile, I glare at him playfully.

"Show off," I mutter before continuing. "All legends in Braille have to do with Regirock, Registeel and Regice. The problem is that they could have found their location or just a tale about how they came to be."

"So you bought the book because...?" Steven raises a brow at me.

"These are all translated, I was thinking the G-men would be able to figure something out from the book. I'm sure they have professionals that are good at this sort of thing," I shrug, not really sure why I bought the book if it doesn't give us answers.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea, they would be able to locate the legend faster," Wallace nods at me, a proud smile on his face. "Jenny likes to give her other agents a little exercise. I can go give it to her because I have to get an okay to be on the field after yesterday's little scare."

I open my mouth to say I want to go with him, in hopes that Steven is busy, to tell him about the picture, but Jeffrey pops out of the house with a platter of food and my words die out. Instead, we all eat together happily. Wallace and Steven go on some rant about how much fun it is to bust criminals, but how boring paperwork is. All the while, the picture remains on my mind, the date flashing like a signal. I need to tell Wallace.

"I have to do some paperwork and scheduling at work, but I will be back to pick you up," Steven informs me and I suddenly remember: we have a date tonight.

"I won't be here, thankfully," I smile at him as the plates are cleared from the table, we stand up to leave. Steven cradles my face, Wallace gags off to the side.

"I'll get you at seven," he kisses me softly before disappearing down the steps.

"Well, now that my breakfast is ruined..."

"Wait!" I spin around and reach for Wallace; he gives me an odd look. "We need to talk."

He pauses and gives me time to speak, but I bite my lip. Should I burden him with something that may really be me? I need to stop relying on him anyway. I should start investigating by myself or someone else besides Wallace. Maybe Megan or Tasha... I'm going to wait.

"What should I buy Steven for our date tonight?" I end up asking, but that has really been on my mind. Especially now that I was just reminded of it. "I feel like I should get him something."

"Do you even get each other gifts?" Wallace snorts at me, seeming to not notice my apprehension.

"He gave me this!" I show him my necklace, the two rings he gave me from way back when. "I just haven't given him something in return, I don't know what to buy guys for a gift...Those boxers don't count either."

"Those were the best," he snickers. "Why not get him a watch or something? Every respectable businessman has one."

"Ok, I'll start with that. Where's a good jewelry store?"

"The one right in town, Dork."

"Does it look like I go jewelry shopping much?"

"It looks like you don't do much of anything, rea- Ow! Real mature," he glares, a smile on his lips, as he holds his shin where I kicked it.

"Thanks. I'm going shopping," I kiss his cheek before leaving the premises. _Maybe I'll bring the picture to Megan and Tasha sometime... They might be able to help._

_**OoOoOoO**_

Wallace was okayed for work on the field, I found a perfect watch for Steven, and then it turned out Megan and Tasha were busy and I couldn't meet up with them. One last sweep through the closet revealed nothing, to my disappointment. I took another shopping trip and bought a dress for tonight. Steven and I don't go on dates much, we see each other enough, but some nights we feel like being proper and relaxed in a public setting.

The night is warm in Mossdeep, the city has a fun night life. People are out and about laughing and having fun and clubs have music blaring from different parts within the city. Near the seaside, it's more relaxed and tame, that's where a lot of restaurants are. Steven picked Seabreeze for our date; it's a quaint little place with delicious food and a beautiful view of the ocean.

We're escorted to our table, on the boardwalk that stretches over the calm waters of the sea, and given menus to order from. Despite this being one of numerous dates, I can't help but stare at Steven a bit. He's wearing a turquoise button up with a loose black tie, black slacks and dress shoes. His hair is in its natural position, swept to the side and looking as though it needs a good run through from me. Along his jaw I find that there's a bit of stubble going on and I smile a bit before averting my gaze, over two years of dating and I don't want to get caught staring.

"You look beautiful," Steven compliments, I look up to see him smiling at me charmingly.

Weirdo, he openly stares without a care in the world.

"Thanks, you're not looking too shabby yourself," I grin at him as a blush warms my cheeks.

I chose a black knee length dress, the skirt is flowing and loose with a turquoise satin bow tied around my waist. The double spaghetti straps crisscross over my upper exposed backside. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it.

"How was your day?" Steven leans forward, his eye gleaming silver in the moonlight. Gosh I love his eyes.

"Pretty uneventful. I went to try and visit Megan or Tasha but they were busy, so, I went shopping," I shrug, I have yet to get back to my little training schedule I set up. My pokemon probably hate me right now. "How was work?"

"The usual. Dad wants to get ready for a new upgrade he wants to sell for the pokenav. He wants to give it radio compatibility, upgrade the map, and give it the addition of letting a trainer know about a pokemon's status condition. He's trying to find the right people to advertise the whole ordeal and stuff," Steven explains, his eyes alight with excitement about the upgrade. I love that about him, always willing to talk about what he and his father do. "It's pretty busy right about now, but soon it will be over."

"That sounds pretty exciting," I admit, their work has always interested me. "I bet Sam is swamped."

"Yeah, but he's a good sport about it," he smiles, that lopsided smile that's just for me.

Within a few moments, our waiter comes back and patiently waits as I take longer to order my food. Once everything is settled, Steven and I relax in our seats and watch the ocean sway for a bit. We're never ones to be all gooey when on a date; we see enough of each other already. It's just nice to be dolled up for one another.

"I bought you something," Steven prompts after our wine is poured.

"Funny, I bought you something too!" I giggle as he pulls out a small box from his pocket, I pull his watch from my strapless bra.

"I could have found that later," he winks playfully, and I snort.

"You'll have to try harder than that," I retort with a playful glare. "Is it a necklace? I already have one."

"Why would I get you a different one?" he chuckles at me, leaning on the table and holding out the box for me. "I think my rings have earned their lifetime spot."

"That's for sure," I glance down at the memorable gift given to me long ago, rarely do they ever leave their spot. Sometimes, I forget they're there. They've become a part of me.

We trade boxes and take turns opening them; he makes me go first and I feel excited to see what's inside. I open the box slowly to reveal beautiful ruby earrings, the stones create a small heart encased in a silver lining. With a smile, I lean over and kiss Steven's lips softly. They're so beautiful. Their ruby glow is wonderful, and I couldn't be even more grateful.

"I love them!" I gush, pushing them into my pierced ears. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome. Your birthday is coming up, and so I thought I get you something for that day: your birthstone," he explains, messing around with the box containing his watch. "Of course, I'm getting you something for your birthday. This is just something for you to wear on your birthday."

"You're too sweet," I touch my ears softly, still marveling at them, before turning to him with nervousness. "Now open yours."

"Scared?" he jokes, turning over the box and inspecting it before opening it.

"Maybe, guys are hard to shop for," I comment, lacing my fingers together.

"So are women," he retorts before lifting the lid and a smile brightens his face. "See? I love it, seriously, I do. It's just what I needed."

"Really?" I question as he lifts the stainless steel watch from its resting spot. Wallace's idea was a bit nerve wracking, why a watch? It's so cliche.

"I'm usually _really_ early for meetings because I never like taking out my pokenav or finding a clock. This is more convenient," he slips it on his left wrist and admires it. "I love it, thank you."

"Don't break it," I jest, and he crosses his heart with a laugh.

Our food comes in after that and our meal is filled with laughter and jokes. I try and forget about the picture, but I feel like I'm betraying Steven by not bringing it up. But it feels so early, and he's so busy. What he doesn't know won't hurt him, right? Besides, the second this starts to turn serious, if it ever does, I'll tell him. I just want to figure some things out first.

"What's on your mind?" Steven wonders as we walk through Mossdeep towards home.

An upside to walking around late at night is no screaming fangirls chasing Steven all over the place. It's weird enough when I'm with Wallace and it randomly happens, it's even worse with Steven. I actually love him!

"Training, that's all," I look up at him and smile. "And tonight? It was perfect."

"I'm glad," he laces our fingers together and pulls me up our steps into the house.

"And then, tomorrow we have stuff to do," I sigh, collapsing onto my pillows, dress and everything. "Just saving the world, no big deal."

"Well, right now, it's just saving Hoenn," Steven points out, lying next to me in his clothes.

"Still a big deal," I roll my eyes at his correction, he leans over me and presses his lips to mine.

The world falls silent and I reach up to run my hands along the planes of his chest as he adjusts his body to be over mine. His hand reaches down to caress my leg gently as his lips move against mine hungrily. With a smile, I wrap my arms around him to pull him even closer for a night ending in the right way.

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**The dirtayyy... Sooo, yeaaah. I'll post the other chapters when I get around to it, it'll probably be today or tomorrow. **

**Until next time :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Happy Independence Day! Also, happy belated birthday to Autumn, July 2nd, I'm always a little late, her birthday will be coming up soon. I lied, it's chapter 9 and it will be a while, my editor moved outside of town and her internet is down a lot, heh. So yeah, a little action is starting now with Terra and a bit with Autumn's mysterious photo. Autumn has her first mission today, and I hope I did good with the whole atmosphere and action bit. Feedback is greatly appreciated, one can only get better, right?**

**Enjoy!**

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The warmth surrounding Autumn rouses her from her comfortable sleep slowly and blissfully, but the noise of Steven talking lowly above her, his body leaning over hers as he does so, only intensifies his voice. Not that she will complain, Steven's voice is soothing and comforting. Something she is okay with waking up to.

"...Maybe...Sleeping..." she hears him mutter, his thumb brushes some stray hair from her forehead. "See...soon."

"Mm-ho?" Autumn mumbles, turning so that her eyes are shielded from the light.

"Jenny, from the League," Steven settles his body next to hers, his bare warmth making her fight slumber. "She says I should wake you up so we can go to the League, but you seem really tired."  
"...want break," she replies with a yawn, still not opening her eyes.

"You've barely started," he sighs sitting up. "Come on, we have to go."

"Five more minutes," Autumn covers her face, it's like waking up for school all over again.

"That tired?" Steven snickers and Autumn blushes. "Too much wo-"

"Alright, I'm up," Autumn rubs her eyes and sits up, covering herself with the blanket. "You sure know how to ruin a perfectly good morning."

"I try my best," Steven winks, kissing her lips softly, sweetly. "We leave in fifteen."

_**OoOoOoO**_

Autumn and Steven arrive in the conference room just in time to run into Wallace and Jenny as they exit.

"About time," Wallace jests, but any banter is stopped by Jenny clearing her throat. The situation turns serious.

"We need you to head out to an old hideout of Team Magma's. It's a mission of utmost importance: you'll be hacking into the mainframe to get some info. Hopefully, nothing will be triggered, and you'll be able to gather a lot. This also shouldn't be _too_ dangerous of a mission, there isn't much activity, meaning it could be a training center or something," Jenny informs Autumn quickly before pulling out a small black flash drive from her pocket and handing it to her. "This will do all the work for you. Just find a connection and put it in there, when it stops flashing, it's done."

"Sounds simple enough." Autumn grimaces at the thought of having to mess with computers, that's way out of her league. She pockets the flash drive carefully and pats her side thoughtfully.

"You leave in two minutes. One of our pokemon will transport you there and bring you back," Jenny adds in one more time before leaving the room.

"Nervous?" Wallace questions his little sister. He can see her shoulders are tense, and he understands. Not only is this mission important, but it's her very first and a lot is resting on her shoulders. And it's not like he isn't nervous or worried for her safety.

"Just a tiny bit," she admits.

This isn't the nerves she gets from contests, no, that's adrenaline that adds to what is really instinct for her. She hasn't trained like Wallace and Steven have, she doesn't have instincts to rely on if she gets caught or if something goes wrong. Brookes only discussed possible actions to take in those situations, but it doesn't help without some hands on experience.

"If you have a pokemon out with you, it makes things easier. Gardevoir is a good choice," Wallace reassures her, just like he always does whenever she's nervous or scared.

"You'll be given an earpiece, you can use to call us for help. Jenny will send backup immediately," Steven takes her hand and smoothes it affectionately. "Don't hesitate to use it like your brother."

"It was one time," Wallace leans back in his chair and tilts his head back dramatically as if they've been through this before. With a quick glance at the clock, Wallace suddenly stands up from his chair. "We have to get going."

Walking into the main room, Autumn is quickly fitted with an earpiece and taught how to use it. All the while, Steven and Wallace watch her with growing worry and nerves, they know she'll be alright but they can't help but worry with her luck. Jenny ignores the tension within the room and gives orders with practiced professionalism. She is confident things will go fine and is ready to aid Autumn in anyway.

"Don't be nervous, and use your head," Jenny offers her one last bit of advice as an Alakazam ambles up to them.

"You've got it, sis!" Wallace cheers before the world spins around Autumn in a flash of bright colors.

_**OoOoOoO**_

The Jagged Pass is just as the name describes. Rocks of all shapes and sizes, the color of lava with steep edges and rugged terrain. At first, Autumn is a bit disoriented by the sudden heat and terrain looming around her. Calming down and taking a quick glance around, she lets out her Gardevoir to scour the place.

Soot rains from the depressing gray sky, almost like an ominous warning of what's going on or what will happen. Autumn dusts herself off for the umpteenth time and carefully clambers down a steep ledge. Hitting the bottom with a nice thump, she and Gardevoir survey the area once again.

"What are we even looking for?" Autumn huffs into the silence of the Pass.

"An entrance on the cliffside just below you," Jenny's voice startles Autumn nearly into screaming.

"Your earpiece seems to be working fine," Wallace teases from the other end before Autumn disconnects the line.

Following Jenny's direction, Autumn slides down another ledge and comes across a hidden entrance taller than her only by a few feet. Two soot covered trees block the entrance from obvious view as the door is colored the same dark maroon as the rock surrounding it.

Heart pounding loudly in her ears, Autumn and Gardevoir carefully stalk towards the door. Autumn's feet crunching against the gravel is the only thing making a sound since Gardevoir is floating soundlessly next to her. Pausing at the door, Autumn checks for security cameras and finds none.

_I can't just open it, that's sketchy! I can't knock either...Ugh, this is so much harder than it should be,_ Autumn grimaces and shivers in front of the door.

"There is a key pad to your right," her earpiece crackles to life with an unknown male voice coming through. "The code is 83772, got it?"

Without a word, Autumn quickly types in the short code and offers an affirmative once it's opened. How they knew it? She will never ask for fear it's a long story that she'll only half understand. The door slides open quietly, allowing the two access into a large cave like room with dim lighting.

"Good, now follow the long path all the way through the room to a door at the end on the other side," Jenny instructs calmly.

Autumn and Gardevoir set off at a light jog. Despite it being dimmer in the cavern, it's not any cooler than it was outside. It's stuffier and more humid, making it worse for her to run in, especially with her black skinny jeans clinging to her skin. Thankfully she's wearing a tank top under a loose shirt to allow her to breathe.

A brighter light ahead alerts Autumn to an upcoming entrance just a few more yards away. Becoming attentive, she spots two guards and dives behind a large boulder with Gardevoir right behind. With ragged breathing, Autumn peers around the rock and surveys the entrance.

_Only two guards, no cameras...good?_

"Gardevoir, take them out with Psychic," Autumn whispers just as the earpiece crackles again, only to go silent as her command is heard.

"Voir," the pokemon sings quietly.

Moving through the dimness, Gardevoir's eyes glow blue before the guards are outlined as well. With a short cry of surprise, they are knocked together and unconscious before their cries can be deemed suspicious. Autumn rushes forward and searches them for anything that might give away their presence.

"Good job," she whispers to her pokemon before ducking through the open entrance.

As soon as she steps through, Autumn grabs Gardevoir and throws herself behind tall crates and heavy machinery. Shouts and cries of training happening down below echo up from the tiered room. Settling between the large crates, Autumn and Gardevoir watch in wonder at the group of humans and pokemon.

"This is their training room," Autumn whispers into the earpiece and activates the visualization tool. "It looks kind of intense."

Silence from the other end lets her watch and concentrate more on what's going on down below. Being perched on the top tier of the large room, it gives her the advantage of seeing almost everything. The middle tier, where training is happening, is the largest tier while the third is the bottom floor and one of the smallest.

Craning her neck to peer over the edge of the crate, Autumn finds two more adult-like and mature looking figures standing off to the side with their backs to her. With no cameras around, Autumn leaps over the crate, quietly, and lands in the ones closer to the two, but safe enough away to get her around the room when the time comes.

"Man, this sucks," the male complains suddenly, Autumn freezes and listens in. "Courtney is crabby, we don't know what that stupid legend means, and our techies have yet to figure it out."

"Shh, Tabitha! You don't want anyone hearing you and reporting it in to Courtney. She's a pain to deal with when she's angry, and I, for one, don't want to deal with her," the red headed female next to Tabitha hushes him with a harsh glare. "Although I agree with you, I'm confident that we won't fail like we did last time."

"Don't worry, Shell, I'm sure _no one_ wants to deal with Courtney right now," Tabitha shoves his hands into his pockets with a bored yawn. "Now that we have better technology and training programs, we're giving those lousy G-men the slip. Whatever it is we're going to do next, they'll never know. Team Terra is a new name and a new game."

"That's for sure," the girl mutters in return before their attention is drawn elsewhere, and they head across the training floor and towards a set of stairs even farther below.

"Shelly and Tabitha were Magma and Aqua admins, they know what they're doing be careful," Jenny warns softly in Autumn's ear as she watches people spar and train just yards away. "Try and get a uniform."

"How?" Autumn frowns at nothing. How the heck is she supposed to get a uniform in a busy place like this?

"Steal one from somebody."

_Of course, easier said than done._ Autumn watches as a lone grunt walks and sits at a nearby bench, just feet from where she is.

With her luck, it's a girl, and she looks very tired, even a bit sweaty from doing whatever it is they are making her do. Gardevoir takes over her body with Psychic and makes it seem as if she's walking to stand behind the crates. With an apologetic look, Autumn strips her of her clothes and gives the grunt her own. Before the girl can alert the others, Gardevoir knocks her out harmlessly, and they leave her lying there.

_Jeez, showing enough skin!?_ Autumn glances down at the scant green cargo shorts barely covering her thighs. The flash drive is tucked nicely in her favorite hiding spot, the same spot Steven's watch was.

Glancing up at Gardevoir, Autumn frowns after a quick glance at the training ground below.

"You can't come with me, it'll be weird seeing you walking around while there are dark and ground types here. You can stay out, but don't get caught," Autumn urges Gardevoir while letting out her Mightyena.

The dark type growls at his trainer, unrecognizable in such a showy outfit, but after a bit of begging and pleading, Mightyena calms down. Gardevoir disappears into the shadows of the room, and Autumn quickly heads down to the training area.

No one seems to pay her any mind as she and Mightyena walk through the sweaty, smelly floor. Thankfully, her pokemon doesn't growl at anyone coming too close for comfort and keeps his head up to watch for any sudden attack.

Keeping her head down, Autumn makes a weaving path towards the set of stairs the other two disappeared down. True to Wallace's words, Autumn treats getting around the training ground like dance practice. Being light on her feet, she practically glides around the field with ease, but not with a look of intent of being somewhere. More like she's lost and trying to find someone on the field.

Heart pumping, Autumn reaches the other side and takes a seat next to some crates and acts exasperated. With the disgusting sweat stains still showing from the previous wearer it makes the facade easier. Just as she starts to get a look around from the different point of view, a loud bang sounds from the stairs only two feet away from the crate pile.

Nearly jumping out of her skin, Autumn rolls behind the crates and hushes her Mightyena with a hand over his muzzle. She watches intently as a group of four approaches the middle of the training room and becomes surrounded by grunts.

"Don't stay and listen, this is your chance," Jenny advises, and Autumn bolts into action.

With one fluid roll, Autumn is at the stairs and rushing down them with Mightyena on her heels.

Adrenaline pumping, Autumn reaches the bottom of the stairs and comes to a boiling hot room. Mightyena softly whines at the heat before his trainer returns him and heads over to a platform with a lot of machinery and computer equipment. She pauses just under a large monitor and searches relentlessly for the right connection.

Though it takes a while, Autumn locates it, and shoves the flash drive into the port and waits anxiously as the orange light begins to flash.

"Try and stay calm, you need to keep your head on if you want to get out," Jenny urges as though this is normal, which it probably is for most people. "You're doing great."

"Thanks," Autumn pants lightly against the heat and spares the boiling lava pool a wayward glance.

Two minutes agonizingly drag by, and Autumn jumps at every sound as the orange flashing continues. When voices are heard, the flashing stops and Autumn rips out the flash drive and shoves it back in its spot. Holding her hands behind her back, the blonde catches sight of Gardevoir looming around in the chamber, atching her protectively as the four people come back down the steps.

Autumn recognizes Tabitha and Shelly, marking them as important assets to the team while trying to keep her cool. The group spots her immediately, and a woman with dark, short hair and piercing eyes steps forward. Her gait is clipped and stoic; immediately Autumn is intimidated but won't back down.

"What're you doing down here?" she demands.

"Sorry, Boss, my Mightyena ran off from me right before the meeting. I came down here to get it and make sure it didn't disrupt anything, my apologies," Autumn lowers her voice and bows her head to the group.

"I see... Get back to training," the woman sneers and Autumn takes this time to rush towards the stairs, relief flooding her adrenaline filled veins.

"Hold on," Shelly's voice cuts through her relief. "Pat her down."

"With pleasure," Tabitha grins, his half lidded eyes showing interest.

_Gross,_ Autumn hides her grimace with a nervous smile.

But thankfully, Tabitha's sketchy and horrifying search comes up empty. If Steven were present, he'd have Tabitha's head on a stick for that. Autumn trembles slightly under Tabitha's gaze before the man backs off and gives her the clear. With a controlled exhale, Autumn bows her head once more and turns to leave when another interruption causes her to dodge the second male's grab.

"Liar!" the dark haired woman screeches as Autumn's backed into a corner. "A virus has been planted, it's set this place to blow!"

_Kind of extreme,_ Autumn nearly hits the ground from that exclamation.

"Get her!" Shelly orders the two men.

Tabitha and the nameless man lunge at her in amazing tandem as if they've been practicing their moves for hours. Autumn ducks out of one's way, while having to dive away from the other's crushing grip. Rolling to her feet, Autumn now has two men blocking her access to the stairs as the computer spouts something about a self destruct sequence.

"Make sure she can't leave this room," the dark haired woman orders before leaving with Shelly.

"Come here, girlie," Tabitha taunts maliciously while cracking his knuckles.

Suddenly, Gardevoir appears in front of Autumn and sends a blue circle of energy towards them, knocking them into the stairs. Rocks begin to fall from above, splashing into the lava dangerously close to them. The two men glance at each other before scrambling to leave.

"Get out!" Jenny shouts in Autumn's ear.

Not having to be told twice, the rookie agent tears up the steps and scrambles with the last remnants of the team to get out as rocks fall from the ceiling. A rock slams down in front of Autumn, the impact on the ground causing her to lose her footing and crash into it. Face stinging and legs hurting, Autumn rubs her face and forces herself to open her eyes and keep moving.

Checking the spot where the girl was laid, Autumn finds it empty, she prays the girl makes it out safe before being the last to run through the long corridor towards the entrance. Rocks fall around her and behind her, blocking the path to the former training area. Pumping her legs harder, Autumn tries not to panic as the walls start to cave in just as she's getting to the entrance.

Gardevoir grabs her and lunges both of them out the entrance before pulling Autumn's body from the ground to a safe distance as the hideout explodes. A flash is seen, and rubble goes flying into the sky. The earth shakes violently as Autumn stumbles after her pokemon to safety.

"Autumn! Autumn!" Steven and Wallace cry into her ear.

The shaking dissipates slowly as the side of the Pass slides down to cover the gaping hole as if told to do so. Autumn collapses against a soot covered tree and rests her aching body. Her heart is flying a mile a minute in her chest while her thoughts are doing the same in her brain.

"I-I'm fine, a little sore, and a bit banged up, but fine," she reports back shakily, her breathing not slowing down. "I'd like to come back now."

"Alakazam is on his way," Jenny replies firmly and calmly.

"Thank you..." Autumn exhales loudly from stress before looking up at Gardevoir who is standing, ready to pounce. "We barely made it, huh?"

"Garde-voir, voir," she nods with a slight chuckle before kneeling next to her trainer and checking her scratches.

"I'll be fine, just a lot of bruises and scratches," Autumn waves off her worry and pats her shoulder. "We're an awesome team."

"Voir!"

_**OoOoOoO**_

"There must have been another protection program in the computer system, we didn't set it to self destruct, but that's what could happen when the files are breached," Jenny offers explanation as soon as Autumn is in the med bay being looked over.

"Okay, good. I was going to be so mad if no one told me that place was going to blow as soon as I got the files," the blonde jests with a half smile as Steven and Wallace rush in.

"Are you hurt?" they both exclaim, allowing the doctor space to look her over while doing their own assessment of her injuries.

"She's fine, no broken bones. But bruising in the face, her nose is a bit swollen, and her knees are scraped," the doctor then turns to Autumn. "You were lucky to escape as you did, any later and you could've been seriously injured."

"Or blown up," she adds with an airy chuckle.

"Do you have the flash drive?" Jenny interjects before Wallace can say anything. The goal of the mission can't be overlooked at a time like this.

"Oh! Yeah," Autumn holds up her finger, telling them to wait, before digging in the front of her shirt.

"Of course," Steven playfully rolls his eyes as she pulls out the little black drive and hands it over to Jenny.

"Job well done," Jenny grins at Autumn. "We may have an open spot for someone with your skills."

"I'll think about it," the blonde returns as the doctor finishes patching her up and ordering her to take it easy for a while.

"It'll take a while to compile and read through every file, so for right now, resting is what you can do without worry. They know we're after them, so Team Terra may play it safe and keep under the radar. That could've been their only training ground, but we don't know for sure," Jenny announces to the trio. "For right now, we're interested in finding out what their goal is and stopping them before they get any farther."

"Right," the trio nods curtly at her before she takes her leave.

"I'll call you three when you are needed."

"Well, that was interesting," Autumn breaks the short silence with a small laugh.

"We were so worried that you were hurt," Wallace hugs his sister softly. "That wasn't interesting, it was _scary_!"

"You guys were the only ones worried about my safety, I had Gardevoir with me. We all know how protective her species is," Autumn snorts, hugging Steven too. "I told you I would be fine."  
"Doesn't mean we can't worry," Steven kisses her nose softly. "What're you going to do now?"

That's when it hits Autumn. The _picture_. She still has it at home in her bag! She has to find Megan and Tasha to talk with them about it. Maybe they'll have a clue to figure out if it's just a mistake or really something mysterious. Hopefully, their advice will be helpful.

"I'm going to go home, change into something comfortable, eat, and then go and see Megan and Tasha," she answers casually, no need to get them suspicious.

"Work has called us both in. Call us if you need anything," Steven informs her, his voice soft as if she'll break.

"I'm fine, guys, really," she waves them off, sliding off the bed and standing firmly on her feet. "Let's go."

With no further arguments, the two boys flank her on each side and walk her out into the hall and to the front gate. Wallace calls for Alakazam to take her home, which she welcomes gladly. Steven kisses her temple goodbye and off she goes, Alakazam making the trip better for her.

_**OoOoOoO**_

"You're back!" Tasha squeals, allowing Autumn into her and Megan's Lavaridge condo.

Tasha is a nurse, much like Nurse Joy, and travels around assisting the family of famous nurses. Her peppy attitude can only be compared to that of Joy as well as her need to assist pokemon no matter the circumstance. That has been true ever since they all went to school. Tasha loves to help pokemon, and is very good at it.

"Yeah, I'm back," Autumn accepts the bone crushing hug, having braced for it the second the door opened and the dark auburn haired girl came rushing out. "Is Megan here too?"

"Yes, I am," Megan pops around the corner with ease.

Megan is the more mellowed out twin and level headed in nearly all situations, except when she's skydiving with David or something akin to that. Megan works at a local hospital as a physician. She is very proficient at working with others, and is great at giving advice to others, Autumn knows that for a fact.

"Good, I need to talk with you two. You're not about to be busy are you?" Autumn furrows her brows with worry.

"No, we're being lazy today. Let's go sit down," Tasha hooks arms with both girls and marches them to the island in the kitchen. "Drink? What happened to your face!?"

"Some wine or something please," Autumn takes a seat at the black marble island in the center of their quaint kitchen. "It's a long story about something that's partially classified, I'll tell you about it a different time. First, I need your guys'...advice and help."

"Uh oh, another family problem?" Tasha snickers, reaching into the fridge for some drinks.

"Is it Steven?" Megan frowns worriedly.

"Yes, it's a family thing, but not a problem. No, Steven and I are fine," Autumn answers both of them with a sheepish smile. "Just take a look at this."

From her pocket, Autumn draws the photo and flicks it onto the counter for the sisters to examine. Megan picks it up first, her bright green eyes narrowed as she takes in the detail, while Tasha sets the drinks down and opens each one. Megan purses her lips, confusion creasing her forehead.

"I don't understand," she finally speaks, handing the photo to Tasha.

Tasha studies the picture, her emerald eyes scanning the photo multiple times, finding the same details her sister did. Her lips purse as well, but she flips the picture over and reads the writing. Then her eyes widen and her mouth takes on the shape of an 'o' of surprise.

"Look here," Tasha points to the date for Megan to see. "That's what's wrong."

"Isn't this you?" Megan questions, taking a sip of her drink.

"That's what I thought, she looks like me, and she has to be me. But there's this nagging sense..."

"You think, your parents had another child?" Tasha fills the gap at the end of the sentence.

"I don't want to think about it, but that has to be the answer," Autumn takes a large gulp, feeling the alcohol wash down her throat. It's going to be a long evening.

"Why don't you want to think about it?" Megan presses further, the picture laying between them on the table.

"Wallace and I dealt with family crap already, I don't want to go through it again," Autumn replies, frowning at her sweet, fizzy drink.

"We understand that that was a stressful time for you, but...!" Megan holds up her finger to stop any protest. "You can't just let this go. Have you told Wallace?"

"No..."

"Autumn!" Tasha groans, smacking her forehead. Megan shakes her head before doing the same as her sister.

"You are hopeless," Megan sighs, Autumn chuckles nervously. "You need to tell him _and_ Steven."

"But I'm not even sure what the heck this is or what it means!" Autumn exclaims in frustration. "I don't want to tell them about a _picture_ that could really be me, how pointless is that?"  
"Autumn, the signs are clear, this isn't you," Tasha waves the picture at her.

"I know you don't want to think about it, but why would your parents keep something like this a secret?" Megan prompts, giving Autumn a soft grin to cheer her up.

"She could be outcast from your family, that could be why your dad doesn't like you. You two look like... twins!" Tasha lets out a guffaw at her own joke.

"That could possibly be it," Megan tilts her head side to side as if weighing the idea.

"Don't remind me... Fine, you guys win," Autumn finishes her drink. "I'll tell them, but only when I've gained the courage."

"Good, this mystery needs to be looked into, Autumn," Megan gets up to escort the blonde to the door. "That girl in the picture could very well be the sister you never knew you had."

_**OoOoOoO**_

Later that night, lying awake in bed, Autumn stares at the ceiling lost in thought about today's events. The explosion is still flashing around her brain, sending her pulse into a frenzy with each attack. It's well past midnight and Steven is laying right beside her, one arm under their pillows and the other wrapped around her waist, completely unaware of her turmoil.

She does want to tell him, but it's still too raw of an idea, for that girl to be her sister and her parents never telling her and her brother about it. But what could have possibly happened for her name to never come up? What _is_ her name? What is she like? Was she such a horrible daughter that her father had no hope for Autumn?

Beside her, Steven lets out a soft sigh before pulling her closer to him, their foreheads close to touching. Autumn welcomes his presence and fights off the foreboding thoughts for the moment. If she's going to tell either of them, it has to be Wallace first and in private. She may love Steven, and it's obvious he's the famous and very cliche One, but this is something too private and personal for him to know without Wallace knowing first.

Now only to gain the courage to walk up to her brother and show him the picture that has Autumn's insides churning with each quick glance.

* * *

**Oh, Autumn, you silly, just tell Wallace! XD **

**Until next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm baaack! I've been typing, reading, watching movies (Pacific Rim was really good *cough cough*) and a bit busy. I'm falling a bit behind on a few things so it might be a delay before the next chapter so please be patient, I would _never_ just leave a story unfinished, even if it wasn't going well or something. I hate that it happens a lot on here with good stories and I will not do that to you guys!**

**Anyways, a little bit of action happens in this chapter and please bear with me, I made a few changes that will be explained at the bottom of the chapter. **

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

_I am the worst sister ever_, Autumn scolds herself while perched on the railing of her front porch.

Steven has already set off to work at the wee hours of the day on this fine and beautiful morning. It's been two days since her meeting with Megan and Tasha, and she hasn't said a word to her brother. It's only partially her fault, Wallace is busy keeping gym leaders filled in on G-men happenings while being a G-man at the same time. On a side note, he has yet to introduce her to Winona.

Leaning against a support beam, Autumn sighs tiredly and lets the sun beam down on her. Maybe she should just get drunk, alcohol _is_ liquid courage, at least she'd be able to tell Wallace.

_Liquid courage is for the weak... Nice try, Autumn,_ she snorts at her pathetic attempt to do something right.

Thankfully, the familiar ring of her pokenav draws her attention and lures her into the house to the kitchen.

"Hello?" Autumn answers the unknown number, taking a guess that it's Jenny.

"It's Jenny, you and Steven are needed."

Jenny's clipped and confident voice lets Autumn know she's right while making her feel like a superhero at the same time.

"Steven is at work; I'm on my way," Autumn informs Jenny before hanging up and gathering her things.

_**OoOoOoO**_

"With Steven busy, it's up to you and Wallace to investigate Pacifidlog Town," Jenny informs the siblings in the conference room.

"What are we looking for?" Wallace questions, his back is straight and his voice is firm.

"Anything to do with legends written in braille and the Regi trio," Jenny paces around the front of the room. "The computer we hacked was a piece of work. It deleted the really important files and left only fragments for us to discover, which is why it took so long for it to upload."

"So we have to find the missing pieces," Autumn supplies, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

"It's going to be a little difficult, not many people know much about the Regi trio," the blue haired woman acknowledges her with a firm nod. "Pacifidlog Town is known for its people having knowledge on legends in Hoenn. If you can find those people as fast as you can and obtain the info we need, it'd get us ahead."

"We'll do our best," Wallace holds the door open for Jenny as the trio make their way out.

"Good luck." Jenny waves them off to do more things.

"You ready, sis?"

"Let's go, I have something to tell you," Autumn rushes Wallace towards the approaching Alakazam and its trainer. If she doesn't tell him now, then she _has_ to tell him later.

_**OoOoOoO**_

"So what's up?" Wallace shoves his hands in his pocket as the siblings walk along the boardwalk of Pacifidlog Town.

Autumn has never been here, Wallace has been once, and so far she is enjoying the ocean waves tumbling softly below the wooden walkway. The huts here are quite sturdy, built by an expert well in their prime. Citizens here are polite and open to newcomers, and with the town being so small, the newest person here is easy to pick out.

"There's something you need to see," Autumn avoids his gaze, hobbling along the softly swaying walkway.

"Wait... it's not an ultrasound, is it? Are you pregnant?" Wallace sticks out his hands to stop them, a look of alarm on his face.

With a flushed face full of not only embarrassment, but also anger, Autumn smacks his chest hard and glares furiously at him. "No! I'm not pregnant. What the _hell_ is wrong with you?"

"I don't know, I was just making sure!" he shies away from her hits and attempts to calm her down. "What is it then?"

Remembering the real reason why she wanted to talk to him, Autumn takes a steadying breath and fixes her hair, which is starting to stick to her face in the morning heat. She swallows the lump in her throat and fishes for the picture hidden in her pocket. Wallace senses Autumn's stiff movements and becomes worried. What could be wrong with his sister?

"When we were staying at our parent's house a few days ago, I was snooping around my closet and... came across something that I didn't understand at first. Which is why I waited a while before telling you in case it was really nothing. Megan and Tasha told me I should have told you first, but me being me said no."

With a deep inhale, the duo comes to a stop at an intersection leading to more huts and eventually a Pokemon Center. The sun shines against the water and sends specs of light across their faces. Their eyes shine, and Autumn feels time stop as she lifts the picture towards Wallace's face.

"Th-this is what I found," Autumn shifts uncomfortably and gauges her brother's reaction as he studies the picture.

Just like the twins, Wallace's brows furrow in confusion while his blue eyes dance across the details in the slightly faded photo. But faster than the twins, his lips purse and he flips it around to confirm his suspicions. Autumn's heart pumps anxiously as she watches him flip it back over in shock.

"Who is this?" he finally breaks the silence and glances up at his sister. "It's not you."  
"I don't know who it is, but that's our mom," Autumn shrugs her shoulders at the mystery. "The girls think, and I agree for obvious reasons, that this is our sister."

"Well, that is obvious. Does Mom know? Dad? Steven?" Wallace clutches the picture as if it'll bring him closer to the baby inside.

"No, I've only told you. I didn't tell Steven because I thought you should know this first, I don't know when I will tell him," she admits, shifting uncomfortably again. Guilt swells in her at the thought of keeping something from Steven.

"How about this: we investigate this for a bit and see what we can find. If this is really our sister and not some easily explainable occurrence, we'll tell Steven. We're all becoming tight on time and it's going to be hard to pay attention to any one thing. The minute we start getting somewhere we tell him," Wallace proposes.

It makes sense, it's clear that that little girl is related to them somehow, but to not stir any drama within their already thin family ties, it is best that this lay low. The guilt stabs at Autumn anyway, but Steven doesn't need to know. He's got a lot on his mind at the moment, and when things calm down, he'll be alerted right away. As long as she doesn't make it look like she's doing stuff behind his back, it'll be fine.

"He'll understand, Autumn, I promise. I don't know about you, but this is so..."

"Personal?" she supplies, and he nods furiously. "I know, it was hard for me to ask for advice from the twins, at least a bit. But now that it's a possibility that this is our sister, I wish I hadn't asked. It's like we're exposed, and no one but us should know until we can explain."

"I agree, I doubt Mom and Dad are going to tell us right away what's going on. Sometime, whenever this stuff calms down, let's go on a little hunt," Wallace decides with a firm nod.

"Right..." Autumn trails off nervously; for a while, their moment hangs there. Wallace stares at the picture one more time before handing it back to his sister.

"Come on, we can't stand here forever. The faster we find information, the faster we can look into our dysfunctional family problems," Wallace offers her a kind smile as she slips the picture into her pocket.

"Right, the world is on the line," she returns the smile with a lighthearted laugh. "Where should we start?"

"Good question... How about we start at the library? If we can't find anything in the books, we'll start asking around."

"Sounds good."

Pacifidlog Town, the 'true' part of it, is all on the water. On a nearby island, however, lies the rest of it. Nurse Joy prefers having the center out on the water, to better access wild pokemon that may be in danger. But she also makes frequent visits to a smaller center, connected to a hospital, on the island. Along with those two important places, there is a small school and a library as well.

It's a quick ride on Gyarados to get to land where there are much more people inhabiting the bigger space. Wallace takes the lead, stepping into the library to check for any suspicious characters. Given the all clear, Autumn follows him to a section on legends and history.

"There's practically nothing here; that's surprising," Autumn whispers in the dead silent library, the only noise is the librarian typing away at her computer. "It's all the stuff that the G-men looked at."

"That doesn't do much for us," Wallace wipes the sweat on his brow, slipping off his hat to fan himself.

Being almost noon, the muggy, hot air is becoming hard to escape. Autumn is surprised the library isn't freezing like it usually is. At least, in school in Rustboro, it was always the best air conditioned room in the building. Glancing down at her faded jeans and cotton t shirt, Autumn releases a sigh.

"We should have dressed for the occasion."

"At least you're not wearing a cape," Wallace gestures to himself, his white and turquoise garb making her sweat even more just looking at him. "Or all of this."

"Yeah, your problem, not mine," Autumn waves him off, turning towards the exit. "Let's see who we can find."

_**OoOoOoO**_

"I am about to give up and say that Jenny just sent us here to keep us busy while sending out the real boys to do the good stuff," Wallace gripes _hours_ later as he, Autumn, and now Steven search around Pacifidlog Town.

They had a hot lead about an hour ago, but it turned into a dead end when the person of interest was nowhere to be found at the given address. They've been searching everywhere for the individual, an older man named Robert, but he's never home, and likes to visit all over. For hours, the trio has searched and searched, but nothing has come up.

Autumn's feeling of uncertainty rose for a moment when Steven joined them a little after four. Wallace took her aside and reassured her once more it was for his sake not to tell him, and that he will know soon enough. She was reassured even more when Steven's day hadn't gone well, lazy workers causing trouble weren't his thing. There was no way she was going to tell him something that her parents may have kept from her. From their previous drama, he may not take it well.

The sun is now lower in the sky, and the air turning a bit cooler, especially now with the ocean breeze coming in more frequently. Steven chose to wear his stone collecting clothes for summer, sneakers, cargo shorts and short sleeved shirt. All it's missing is his tools for collecting and he'd be well within a cave by now.

"I doubt she'd do something like that," Autumn chuckles, fixing her short hair to be away from her face. "This is just a really tough mission, just like she said it would be."

Standing in front of the center on the boardwalk, the trio pauses for a moment to rethink their strategy. This day is going horribly. Who knows how far Team Terra has gotten on their plans while they have nothing to report!? Jenny has sent them encouragements and told them that nothing has appeared yet on the radar.

"This is a little much," her brother retorts with a scoff.

The group releases a group sigh, just like in those movies when the main characters have lost almost all hope and have nothing to more to do. Leaning into Steven, Autumn surveys the town's peaceful scenery. It's true, nothing has come up, and although they aren't on a set time limit, that doesn't mean they should be devoting their time to searching.

"Should we walk around again?" Autumn leans her head on Steven's shoulder, her eyes on her brother.

"I suppose," he sighs, taking off his hat to ruffle his short hair. "If we go home empty... I'm going to do something bad."

"Like what? Spend all day sitting on the couch thinking of something illegal to do?" Autumn snickers at her brother, Steven squeezes her hand thoughtfully.

"He might, instead, use his time to ask out Winona," he winks at her as they amble down another boardwalk. Autumn is getting sick of boardwalks.

"That would be _much_ better!" she beams at her brother mischievously, he only glares at Steven in return.

"You just had to," Wallace sighs in mock disappointment.

Their conversation immediately stops as they round a corner and spot a group of three conversing on an unknown subject. Steven and Wallace stiffen at the sight; Autumn squints to get a better view of the situation.  
It's clearly Team Terra grunts, the black shirts and cargo pants are obviously visible in the receding light. It's a group of three boys slightly huddled in front of someone, none of their postures give away that they're conversing with a possible fourth member, making Autumn nervous about what's transpiring.

"Let me go!" a voice shouts from the middle of the group, a male voice.

"Skarmory, help us out!" Steven reacts quickly, dashing forward with the other two behind.

Reaching for their own pokemon, Wallace and Autumn let out their Milotic and Altaria subsequently. The group whips their heads around, and their eyes widen as they see the group heading towards them. Without even thinking about it, one of the boys in the group holds out a man in his late fifties in front of him. The rest of the group let out a few pokemon, all Quagsire.

"Hold it!" the Terra grunt demands angrily.

Everyone stops in their tracks, and it's a silent stare down. Autumn stares at the older man. His graying brown hair is cut short and neat, his face is a bit wrinkled from aging, but also from the fear of what's going on. Dressed in vacation clothes, shorts and a button up, there's something about his face that Autumn feels that _he's_ Robert. And besides, why else would Terra grunts be harassing him?

"Leave him alone," Wallace states coldly, Milotic has wrapped around the boardwalk and is waiting patiently for her trainer's command.

"Go back to where you came from. This has nothing to do with you," the grunt grips the man tighter and pushes him towards the side of the narrow walkway.

"It has everything to do with us," Steven retorts, narrowing his eyes, Skarmory lands on his outstretched arm, waiting to attack.

"Hand him over," Autumn joins in on the threats, a rising anxiety building in her stomach. From her shoulder, Altaria caws quietly with anticipation, her wings bristling at the danger.

"No..." the captor weighs his options, outnumbered by two elites and a master coordinator. "Ugh, come get him!"

Autumn watches in complete shock as the Terra grunt forces the man into the water and orders his Quagsire to use Whirlpool. With a shout of rage, Autumn runs forward under the cover of Skarmory and Milotic. With Altaria at her heels and the shouts of the boys behind her telling her to stop, Autumn relies on instinct.

"Stop Quagsire with Sky Attack!" she tells her pokemon before diving into the water.

By the time Altaria attacks the pokemon, the light blue whirlpool violently disturbs the water below. The boardwalks sway aggressively. Steven and Wallace clutch the floorboards desperately, and the grunts do the same before both sides dive into a battle. A dangerous battle taking place half on water and the other on the fragile walkway.

In the water, Autumn braces against its torrential pulses, tossing her here and there as she attempts to locate the old man. Luckily and unluckily, his body slams into hers and she accidentally lets out most of her breath. Twisting around, she grabs onto his waist to steady herself. Running out of air, feeling the pressure building in her lungs, she frantically searches for a pokeball. Finding the right one, she quickly thrusts it away from her and prays it opens in time.

"I have to go in!" Steven shouts to Wallace. The Team Terra grunts are stronger than they thought. Skarmory struggles to take down the one Lanturn that they had decided to bring. "She's not back up yet."

"Just wait, she'll be fine!" Wallace calls back, his concern is towards the boardwalks below them.

With each wave of attacks from the three Quagsire, the wood below them bends and cracks. People have long headed into their homes, and Wallace is sure someone called the island police and prays they're on their way. He knows Autumn is a wonderful swimmer, thanks to their lessons in Sootopolis, but with the raging water below, it does little to ease his fear for his little sister.

"All Quagsire, use Surf! Lanturn, add in Discharge!" one of the grunts shouts out.

"Oh no," Wallace smacks his face. "Milo-"

Just as a large wave begins to rise out of the water, electric sparks dancing around it, a large form bursts behind the two. Glancing behind them, Steven and Wallace relax at the sight of Autumn on the back of her Gyarados's back with the mysterious man next to her. Gyarados's roar fills the skies.

"Dragon Pulse!" they hear her shout.

Rearing his head, Gyarados charges up a sparkling blue-green orb, and flings it at the heart of the wave. As if it was a contest, the wave explodes in a shower of watery sparks that harmlessly touch the ground. Lowering his body, Gyarados allows Autumn and the man to slide off the side of his body.

"Ugh!" Wallace groans angrily, gesturing to the spot where their adversaries were. "They _fled_!"

"Sorry," Autumn wrings out her hair, a grimace on her face.

"It's not your fault," Steven rushes to her side, cupping her face and searching for any injuries. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she chuckles at him before turning to the man she rescued. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yes, thank you," he coughs out some water.

"The police are here, I'll talk to them. I advise you _both _get looked at by the medics," Wallace steps into the circle, his hand on his sister's shoulder. For a moment, they lock eyes before he moves to speak with the approaching officer Jenny.

Despite the warmth of Pacifidlog Town, Autumn and the man begin to shiver from the cool breezes. Two medics rush forward with towels to help dry them off, asking questions about what happened to them along the way. Steven, after being shooed away by Autumn, joins Wallace in reporting the attack.

In spite of the chaos, there wasn't a lot of damage done to the town. But their wooden battle ground has definitely splintered dangerously. The water has calmed down, and slowly, people begin to exit their homes. Autumn watches as they glance around at each other, wondering who would do something so dreadful to their peaceful town.

"Don't worry, not only will this be repaired quickly, but those blasted kids didn't get anything from me," the man nudges Autumn gently, his brown eyes gentle. The skin crinkles around his eyes with his kind smile.

"Robert?" she raises a brow, relief floods her like a wave at his nod. "We've been looking everywhere for you."

"Thought so," he chuckles lightly. "I'd be glad to help out the good guys, though I would like to be dry and in the comforts of my home."

"I agree," Autumn finds herself smiling back at him. He reminds her of Sam, a lighthearted man that doesn't look down on her like her own father.

Within thirty minutes, the two elites have talked with Officer Jenny of Pacifidlog Town _and_ the head of the G-men. They were definitely surprised to find Autumn talking with Robert casually. And then, when she broke the news of who he is, they nearly hollered with joy at the good news.

Robert kindly escorts them to his house, both he and Autumn clutching their towels tightly to themselves. Once there, he offers them some food and drink, for the day was long and tiring for all parties. Autumn gets a change of clothes, courtesy of Robert's kind wife, Gina.

"We hear you hold a lot of knowledge on the Regi Trio and its legends," Wallace starts, taking a sip of some coffee, Winona popping into his head once again. Beside him, Autumn lets out the smallest of chuckles. So small anyone else would have thought they were imagining it, but being her brother, Wallace covers his blush with a small cough.

"Yes, my father studied them when I was young, as well as my grandfather," Robert sets down his own drink and glances between the three appreciatively. "I must thank you agai for saving me, those punks were demanding it all from me without even a second thought. They suddenly surrounded me, threatening to bring harm to me if I didn't speak."

Wallace swears under his breath. "They must be desperate to get their hands on the trio, but are at a loss of how to do it."

"Those were my thoughts exactly, they wanted me to look at a piece of paper and finish the legend written down," Robert agrees wholeheartedly.

"Do you remember that legend?" Steven presses further.

"Of course. It talked about something that involves something only very few people here know of. I am one of those people, but even with this info, I am sure that those punks are finding the others as we speak," Robert glances around the table. "They had the right part of the legend, the one in which it talks about this cave. I'm sure they wanted to confirm it with me."

"What is this cave?" Autumn tilts her head curiously at him.

"It's a place that was built long ago. The creators are unknown, and it's very well hidden. Not only is it dangerous that whoever those kids are know where it is, but it can bring a lot of trouble to Hoenn. Like I said, it's very well hidden," Robert explains carefully, his anxiety growing within him. "Under the water of Route 134, through the currents, there is this cave."

"What's it called?" Wallace leans forward, the urgency in his voice palpable.

"The Sealed Chamber."

* * *

**I really liked Pacifidlog Town in both the anime and games so I kind of combined them, it's like a town where there's tradition, the houses on the water, with a more modern side. That's why it was kind of awkwardly built like that, I hoped it wasn't too weird. I hope you're excited for the next chapter ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**And now the fun stuff begins, before I explain, I just want to say, I've finally tried Pocky. Yes I've caught up with the rest of the world and it is really good. I went to an anime con this past weekend and it was pretty fun, I wish it was SDCC but what can ya do? (aka I'm broken hearted that another year is gone and I'm not in San Diego) Now on to explanations, I took some stuff from the manga and what bulbapedia says about Wailord and Relicanth for later on, it just made sense to me and I tried to fit it in. So if something doesn't make sense, feel free to ask.**

* * *

"Oh! I've heard of the Sealed Chamber," Autumn points her finger upward as the memory suddenly rushes to her. "But... I didn't think it was a real location."

"It's real alright," Robert confirms. "And I suggest you hurry and get there before anyone else does."

"Why?" Wallace frowns, Steven turns away from the table to make a call.

"If they're after the Regi Trio, then they need to unlock their chambers from the Sealed Chamber. Though given their intelligence, they won't know how to do it," Robert speaks idly.

"No, they've got some pretty cynical people on their team. I'm sure someone can figure it out," Wallace shakes his head. "Now we're short on time. If they were looking for confirmation, they might just go there anyways."

"Should we alert Jenny?" Autumn glances at her brother.

"Already did, she's sending a small squad to us with equipment to go diving," Steven returns, clicking his pokenav shut. "They'll be here soon."

"Is there anything else we should know?" Autumn turns to Robert.

"I've never been there, I just know where it is. It may take a while, but it isn't dangerously deep. As long as you've got water types, you should be able to find it quicker," Robert shakes his head. "I hope you guys find it first."

"We do too," Wallace gets to his feet. "Thank you, Robert, for the information."

"No problem," the older man grins at the trio.

"And thanks for the clothes," Autumn smiles, holding her folded and, now, dry clothes.

"Don't worry about it," Gina pops in, taking away their dishes. "You three be careful."

"We will!" they call, exiting the house in a short line.

"Jenny gave us permission to use force if we have to, to keep them out of the chamber. Once we have our gear she's going to keep in constant contact with us," Steven explains as they rush towards the pokemon center. "It's a small squad of four others."

Coming up to the center, the trio are met with the four squad members all wearing swimming gear. Autumn notices the bulky look, probably for packing handcuffs and pokeballs without worrying about losing it. They greet the four before getting dressed into their own gear and discuss battle plans.

"Two of you will stay at the surface; we will alert you if anyone gets through. You are to try your best and stop them. We don't know the layout of the Chamber, so the other two will come in with us. We have to be alert and on the defense," Wallace takes charge, making his sister feel a sense of pride for him. "Let's go."

_**OoOoOoO**_

Leaving the two agents up above at the surface, the rest dive down into the colder waters. Autumn and the other two agents, named Zach and Emma, ride on her Gyarados down into the dark depths behind Steven hitching a ride on Wallace's Gyarados and Wallace on Milotic, with his Lanturn lighting the way. The suit clings to her, but she can feel her pokeballs and even her own set of cuffs resting against her hip comfortably. The goggles offer her a good visual of the cliffside looming above them, and the aqualung offers her comfort for being so deep within the water.

In front of them, Wallace signals a turn towards the cliffside as Lanturn's yellow orbs shine along the rocky surface. Drawing closer, Autumn scans the cliffside desperately searching for an opening. Gyarados jets along the round rock formation, with a jolt, Autumn squeezes the tough scales on his back hard enough to get him to stop.

The others stop alongside her and raise questioning glances before she points to a large opening a few feet above them. It's a large, oval shaped opening that looks undisturbed from the outside.

Without missing a beat, the group files into the entrance and follows the cave as carefully as they can. Gyarados's tall scales nearly scrape against the walls of the cave as they both try and slither through the the opening. Milotic has only a bit of an easier time, though it eventually comes time when the three large serpent-like pokemon need to be returned.

The five break the surface and swim to shore, Autumn heaves herself onto the rocky ledge. She turns and pulls Emma up out of the pool too before removing her head gear and gazing into the dimly lit cavern. Autumn looks around for the light source, which is remarkable in a place as dark as this, but finds none.

_Creepy,_ she shivers, and sets her gear down with the others.

Despite being built many, many years ago, the Sealed Chamber isn't grimy, cracked or creepy, despite the unknown light source. Standing beside Wallace and Steven, Autumn surveys the room, more like the ten mounds of earth raised from the ground. Tilting her head, Autumn approaches the closest ones.

"Autumn?" Steven's voice quietly echoes against the walls.

Kneeling in front of the short mounds, Autumn runs her hands against the hard rock. Some parts of it are raised, and others are grooved. A memory sparks within her, and she takes a look at the three other squares on the rock. She runs her hand along those parts of it too, getting a feel for it as well as the memory.

"This is the end of the alphabet," she turns to her brother with a grin. "Those braille lessons _did_ come in handy."

"Would you look at that? Mom and Dad were right," Wallace snickers, before the siblings grimace and glance away at each other.

Autumn covers it up by scanning the other mounds of rock, she stands up and weaves around them. "It's like a key. This is the whole braille alphabet plus some punctuation."

"So... what does that mean?" Zach sets his hands on his hips.

"That there's a message to decode, but we're too late," Emma calls after having explored on her own.

The others look up and find her standing on a upper ledge a few feet behind the last mound. There's a gaping hole in front of her, no noise escapes it but there is a bit of light shining through. The four others rush up behind Emma and pause at the door, eyeing the bit of braille sitting above it. Zach, Emma, and Steven turn to Autumn and Wallace to translate.

"Let's see... Uh, 'In this cave, we have lived,'" Autumn starts, frowning at the rough use of braille. "'We owe all to the Pokemon.'"

"'But, we sealed the Pokemon away. We feared it.'" Wallace starts on it. "'Those with courage..."

"'Those with hope. Open a door..."

"An eternal Pokemon waits." they finish together before addressing the rest of the group.

"We better hurry," Steven urges, staring down the long corridor, the group immediately breaks into a run.

The corridor leads to the same size cavern as the first one, only this time it's full of at least ten other people. Immediately, guards go up as alarms are raised and the G-men are surrounded by Pokemon and grunts. Steven and Wallace flank Autumn, Zach and Emma finish the circle.

"Well, well, well. Look who finally caught on," Tabitha's familiar voice perks Autumn's ears. "I've been _dying_ to see your face again, sweetie."

"Prove it," Autumn challenges with a smirk. Beside her, Steven allows himself a laugh.

"You little..." Tabitha's dark eyes flash angrily, but with a deep inhale, he calms down. "No matter, you can't stop me either way."

"What are you going to do?" Wallace demands angrily.

"Watch and find out," Tabitha sneers, turning his back on them. "Make sure they don't get free."  
The nine grunts surround the five, smirks and sneers on their faces, their pokemon, mostly Sandshrew, Numel and Baltoy, keep their tense guard up as well. Behind them, Tabitha stares at some braille on the wall. It's too far for Autumn and Wallace to make out any of it, though they are sure it's instructions.

Wordlessly, Tabitha pulls out two pokeballs and sets them down on what seems to be two separate pedestals. The pedestals emit a soft light, and the earth begins to tremble softly beneath their feet. Tabitha's laughter rises from the platform, the grunts turn terrified glances at each other while the pokemon huddle closer to the ground in fear.

"Go!" Wallace suddenly shouts, scaring Autumn out of her skin.

Then she sees why. He's released Ludicolo amongst the chaos, giving everyone else a chance to do the same. Autumn breaks from her stunned reverie and lets out the first ball she finds. Aggron roars loudly and takes down the first line of Sandshrew attempting to attack his trainer.

"Come on," Wallace takes Autumn's hand and pulls her towards the front.

Dodging through all the fighting, she and Wallace catch up to Tabitha who seems confused, disappointed, and furious all in one big ball of emotion. Autumn snickers at it, though is curious as to why he feels that way. Wallace holds her back from rushing forward, his stance stiff and protectively.

"What's wrong, Tabby? Didn't go the way you planned?" Wallace taunts him with a smirk.

"Shut it, Wallace," Tabitha snaps back, turning to face them. A lax smile touches his face and he shrugs. "Just a minor setback."

"What did you think it was going to do?" Autumn demands.

"We weren't sure, we were just doing what the message says," he points to the braille above him, neither sibling looks up. "But I guess I could try and kill two Taillow with one stone. Camerupt, Crobat let's go!"

"Ludicolo!"

"Mightyena!"

Behind them, the chaos slowly winds down, the grunts are running out of pokemon and are being deftly handcuffed by Steven, Zach and Emma. Thankfully, the sturdy build of the cavern has yet to give way from the vicious fighting. Autumn sneaks a backward glance to find her Aggron standing behind Steven with her boyfriend's Metagross floating right beside him. Both viciously stare down the young grunts as they cower in fear.

"Camerupt, use Take Down, Crobat, Cross Poison!" Tabitha shouts, becoming angrier at the sight of his grunts captured.

"Ludicolo, dodge it, and then use Hydro Pump on Camerupt!"

"Mightyena, roll out of the way and use Dark Pulse on Crobat!"

Camerupt snorts steam from its nostrils before charging towards Mightyena, the ground shaking with each hard step. Mightyena rolls away expertly and leaps into the air as Crobat crosses its wings together, sending a wave of purple energy in the form of an 'X' at Ludicolo. The flying type is knocked down by a wave of purple circles exiting Mightyena's gaping mouth. Ludicolo spits a harsh jet of water at Camerupt, having changed its course to run straight towards the part water type. With a cry of pain, the hit only makes the eruption pokemon furious.

"Double Edge, Camerupt. Crobat, Air Cutter!"

"Use Zen Headbutt!"

"Dodge it, and then use Iron Tail!"

Ludicolo does a little twirl before suddenly lunging at Camerupt with the same fierceness as the enemy. Both crash head on into each other, causing a small explosion that consumes the two, plus Mightyena, within the smoke. Crobat sends a flurry of 's' shaped disks raining down onto field.

Autumn calls out, a smile in her voice. "Now!"

Without warning, Mightyena suddenly leaps into the air and twists his glowing tail, slamming it into the purple pokemon. Crobat lets out a cry before hurtling towards the ground a few feet away from a struggling Camerupt as he and Ludicolo push and shove at each other. Their bodies still glowing with their attacks, a tough standoff begins between two tough pokemon.

"Mightyena, help out Ludicolo with Shadow Ball!" Autumn calls out anxiously, it doesn't look like Crobat will be getting up too quickly.

Mightyena releases a dark purple orb and hits right in the middle circle on the side of the pokemon. Camerupt staggers to the side, releasing a roar of anger, before catching its balance and glaring at Ludicolo. Suddenly, steam starts to escape from the humps on its back and everyone in the room, except Tabitha, freezes.

"No you don't, I'm not dying down here!" Tabitha growls, gritting his teeth and pulling out a pokeball. Camerupt is contained quickly but Tabitha isn't finished just yet. "Crobat, get up and use Haze."

Crobat struggles, but manages to leap into the air and fill the whole cavern with harsh black smoke. Wallace bends over Autumn and keeps her protected in the sudden darkness surrounding them. Footsteps fill the air, Tabitha's sharp laugh is heard before there are loud splashing sounds from far away.

"Altaria... Clear the...smoke!" Autumn coughs, fumbling with the pokeball before lamely tossing it into the air.

With a loud cry, the sound of wings beating the air accompanies the disappearance of the smoke. Wallace gives his sister room to stand and surveys the cavern, counting heads and taking damage counts. Silence settles in like a blanket now that the grunts have fled, Tabitha right behind them. Steven is heard contacting the other two agents at the surface. All trainers return their pokemon with kind words and regroup.

"Steven, you take these two and head up there to help them," Wallace assumes command once more.

"Okay," Steven nods, glancing at Autumn meaningfully, she offers him a smile before he, Zach, and Emma disappear down the long corridor, and it's silent once again.

"Autumn," Wallace breaks through the blanket, his eyes on the words above.

"'First comes Relicanth. Last comes Wailord.'" she reads aloud as the others join them.

"What does that mean?"

"I'm not...sure," Autumn tilts her head before gazing around. "This is all that's in here."

Both siblings approach the pedestals carefully as if the ground will start to tremble once more. Each pedestal has strange braille markings, unreadable to either of them, on the front side, while on top, it's a groove fit for a pokeball. Running her fingers along the groove, Autumn feels a tingle dance across the tips.

"We should have kept Zach, he's good at stuff like this," Wallace sighs, kicking a loose pebble on the ground.

"Well, let's think about it." Autumn backs up to get a good view of the braille message above. "'First comes Relicanth'. What do we know of Relicanth?"

"You're asking the water type expert here," Wallace gestures to himself gracefully. "It's a part rock type pokemon, also an ancient pokemon. Even though it's been said that it hasn't changed for over 100 million years, I think I recall some rumors about it being related to land living pokemon."

"Okay, so once, it was possibly related to ground types," Autumn lists, and then moves on. "'Last comes Wailord'."

"Wailord has the same rumors but opposite, land living that changed to live in the sea," Wallace offers expertly. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

"I guess not much, the relationship between land and sea really doesn't have much to do with the Regis... But what if that's not the only reason those two were needed?" Autumn prompts with a snap of her fingers. "Earlier the message said 'Open a door, an eternal pokemon waits.'"

Wallace's eyes widen with realization. "They were used to open the doors to the trio... But are they actual doors? Where do they reside?"

"I don't think we're going to find that out in here," Autumn states bleakly. "We should head out."

"Yeah, we have to report this to Jenny," Wallace concedes, his shoulders hunching over.

"It's not a complete loss, we at least know more than _Tabby,_" Autumn chuckles pointedly at him. "I didn't know you two were so well acquainted."

"It's not the first time we've run into each other," he shrugs with a smirk. "Come on, the others are waiting."

_**OoOoOoO**_

"I have to say, job well done," Jenny states, a slight smile touching her lips. "There are still many questions, but at least we are a step ahead of Terra. Just like the Sealed Chamber, it's hard to find just where the Regi Trio live. And if they don't know, that gives us some time to gather info."

"Tabitha had no idea what would happen, he just did as he was told," Wallace adds in. "So they really took a chance today."

"Courtney probably guessed that something big would happen. She's going to retreat into research and keep her agents well hidden. If any of them get caught, it's possible they could fess up whatever it is that she's planning," Jenny informs them, and then catches Autumn yawning tiredly. "Go get some rest, all of you. It was a busy day, and everyone worked hard."

Content with being dismissed, all seven of the agents rush out of the room, happy to be getting to bed. Wallace and Steven pull Autumn along, who is practically asleep on her feet, to ask Alakazam for a ride. Lids drooping, brain turning to mush, and body aching from the day's excitement, Autumn grabs her brother's wrist before she and Steven are teleported home.

"Let's hang out tomorrow," she stares at him meaningfully.

He catches the message right away. "Yeah, I'll come by around noon."

"Great." She beams before pulling away and leaning on Steven.

Alakazam teleports them home within seconds, and Autumn couldn't be happier at the sight of the cottage. Steven squeezes her hand and pulls her inside with him, her bag of clothes held in his other hand. The warm sea breeze greets Autumn, but after today, she's a bit sick of water.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I forgot to ask, do you work tomorrow? I just made plans with Wallace, but I can cancel them if yo-"

"Don't worry about it," Steven waves her off with a smile, pulling her into him and hauling her up into his arms. "I have to work, just a week or two more."

"I'm hoping this will blow over in a week or two," Autumn lays her head on his shoulder, his earthy smell mixing with seawater, making her grimace a bit. "Then I can stay longer before heading back to Sinnoh."

"I'd like that," he sets her down at the entrance of their doorway. "What're you and Wallace going to do?"

Autumn feels her nerves prickle for the tiniest instant. "I'm not sure yet, I'm thinking of giving him a speech on why he should ask Winona out."

"Poor guy..." Steven snickers, peeling off his clothes to change.

Autumn quickly does the same, the thought of being warm and comfy in their bed sounds wonderful after the day's events. Flipping off the light, she snuggles into Steven's welcoming arms. Holding her close, Steven plants a soft kiss on Autumn's forehead before she reaches up and plants one on his lips.

Thinking about tomorrow oddly fills Autumn with excitement, and she settles in quickly, slumber taking her down the second she's comfortable. With the day tomorrow to start searching, she'll need her energy.

* * *

**Ooh, what are they going to find in the next ****chapter? Also, this story is the first time I'm actually okay with two canon characters falling in love that has been shipped before. Wallace and Winona are just too cute for me to ruin it with something else. See ya next time.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry for the late update, but I am very excited about this chapter because big things happen. Sometimes I like to be dramatic and this chapter is a little bit of that. Thank you for the reviews, I am grateful for them and I can't to see what is said about this chapter, if you feel like reviewing for it that is. On a different topic, it's August and I'm moving into my college dorm at the end of this month and I'm very excited. **

**Okay, now you can enjoy!**

* * *

"How did you survive mornings without me?" Autumn berates her boyfriend, sliding eggs onto his plate that settle right next to the crisp bacon, golden brown hash browns, toast, lightly buttered, and now, over medium eggs. After nearly starving from lack of cooking skills, Autumn took a class with her brother and is now really good at making breakfast foods, it's just everything else that still needs a bit of practice.

"I didn't," Steven states simply, straightening his work clothes before digging into the food quickly.

"Maybe you should take a cooking class," she suggests, slowly enjoying her own plate of food.

"Probably," he chuckles, shoving a chunk of toast, egg, and hash brown in his mouth. He hums in appreciation of the food before drowning it with juice.

"Don't choke, I won't give you the kiss of life," Autumn tries to eat quickly, but not like a slob like Steven. She wants to hurry the heck up and meet up with her brother to ransack their childhood home.

"But I'll taste like bacon!" Steven's voice slowly gets higher and louder, as if him tasting like bacon is a revelation.

"Tempting, but it'd be your own damn fault," she snickers at him, typical morning for them to argue over something. "You'd have to get yourself out of it."

"So, you would leave me to die? I thought you loved me!"

"'Till death do us part' is for married people, and _you_ haven't even proposed."

"I'm not taking the bait," he returns to eating quickly, though there is a smile on his face. "You'd save me to taste the bacon."

"Yeah, but I'd never tell you that," Autumn eyes him happily before they both finish their meals simultaneously.

"I'm off to work, I'll call you if I'm done early," Steven wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her close. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Autumn's heart pumps rapidly before he lays a bacon-y, sweet kiss on her lips. "Yep, bacon."

"Told you," he winks, making her heart do a few flips, before whooshing out the door much like Wallace does with his cape.

_Alright, Autumn. Now it's time to focus on family problems,_ she reminds herself, heading to her room to change.

She pulls out a black and turquoise racerback tank top, denim shorts, and some black sneakers for the day. Her growing hair is pulled back into a tiny ponytail while the stray hairs are pulled up by pins. Autumn organizes her things in her side bag, like her pokeballs and pokenav, before heading out to meet up with Wallace.

_**OoOoOoO**_

"Where should we start?" Wallace, dressed up fancy in his usual garb, questions, following his sister into the main hall of their old home.

"Well, I found the picture in an album in my room," she points out, already heading up the stairs. "Maybe there are more hidden in the pages."

"How many albums do we have?" Wallace's strained voice echoes slightly in the empty hall.

"Just two," she chuckles in reply, pushing open the door to her room and making a Beeline for her closet. "It shouldn't take too long."

"And what do we do if we don't find anything?" her brother raises a brow, sitting cross legged on her bed across from her.

"I guess we'll have to look somewhere else," she shrugs as if it's not a problem, or that it's simple.

And with that, they set to work on examining each page and picture to see if there is a hidden surprise wanting to be forgotten. Their hopes start out high, and maybe there is a hidden hoard of these photos just waiting to be found. They find themselves laughing at the memories behind many of the pictures of each other or their parents. A warm sense of family envelops them and it makes time seem to move faster. If only that helps.

Two hours later, Wallace and Autumn put back the last of the pictures in each of their albums and plop the books down in the box they originated from. Their hopes have long since fled and they aren't feeling any better about finding out about their sister. How could there be only _one_ picture of their sister? What did she do to make her parents want to forget her?

"Ugh, now what?" Autumn pushes the box away with her foot and leans on her brother's shoulder.

"Well..." Wallace trails off, frowning at the box.

And then silence falls thick and heavy around them. Wallace wraps an arm around his sister, his cape covering them both with its warmth. With both photo albums clear of any evidence, their next move should be...

"How long has Jeffery worked for us?" Autumn mumbles, taking in her brother's familiar, comforting scent.

"Since before we were born..." he answers and then catches on to her drift. "But you don't think that they got him to take care of her too?"

"You never know," she shrugs. "Let's go ask him."

"Whoa, whoa, wait," he stops her, both of them get up, Autumn puts away the box and gives her brother a scolding look. "We don't for sure and we could get in trouble, I don't want Jeffrey hating me. Remember the last time we pranked him and he purposefully put garlic in with our laundry?"

"We don't live here remember?" Autumn snickers at the memory, though the thought scares her.

"Yeah, but we do come to visit and he does send us an occasional treat," he points out, a shudder runs through him at the thought of garlic. "What if we just approach with caution? Let him relax and then slowly ask him about the picture. That way, it's not like we are searching him for all the info. We're innocent."

"We bring it up like we just found it and want to know," she adds in with a glimmer of hope rising within her.

"Exactly."

Just as the saying goes, it's all easier said than done. The trek down the staircase is tense as the siblings awkwardly try to appear casual. Jeffrey's lair is near the kitchen, but if he's taking a break, then he's in the library. After a quick game of rock, paper, scissors, it's decided that Wallace will check his room.

Handing him the picture, Autumn waits in a passageway from the kitchen into the hall, heart pounding and ears perked. Wallace taps his foot impatiently at the door and clears his throat a few times.

"He's not here," Wallace appears suddenly in the doorway, looking tense and stressed. "Let's go to the library and talk to him _together._"

"You were never good at playing rock paper scissors," she mutters with a smirk.

They take another nerve wracking trip to the library on the other side of the large dining room marking the middle of the house. Without any second thoughts, they walk straight into the library. It's a pretty large room, though it's nothing out of a fairy tale, it is one of the many places Autumn remembers spending some time with Jeffrey. She holds to these memories dearly, as he was kind of like a father to her when her own would just ignore her.

"Jeffrey?" Wallace calls out as calmly and casually as he can.

"Yes, I am over here," he calls on the other side of a tall rack of books.

Rounding the rack, they find Jeffrey reading a small book that looks to be for children. Autumn almost lets out a small whine, it's the one he used to read to her and Wallace at bedtime. This feels almost like a betrayal. Jeffrey has been nothing but a father figure for them, and now they are going to weed information out from him.

"Is there something you would like?" he sets the book down and adjusts his glasses on his wrinkling face.

"We just have a question," Autumn starts tentatively. She pulls the picture out of her brother's hand. "We were looking through old albums, just for old time's sake, and we found this behind one of our photos..."

"We're a bit confused by it and we thought maybe you could...shed some light on it...Please?" Wallace finishes, a bit awkwardly, but that could be taken for the confusion on the picture.

"We'll let's have a see," Jeffrey, completely unsuspecting, holds out his hand.

Autumn passes it to him and both siblings immediately gauge his reaction, Wallace with a trained eye and Autumn with worry. She misses the instant his eyes flash with a multitude of emotion, most of which Wallace can barely catch. Anger, sorrow, regret and not only that, but also some happiness. The rest is lost in the swirl.

"I'm not sure what the problem is," Jeffrey clears his throat, glancing up at the two. "This is you Autumn, on your birthday."

"Check the back," Wallace points out, watching him very carefully.

Another flash of the earlier emotions. "I'm sure there was a mistake in the date, a simple mistake of..."  
"Jeffrey, please stop lying to us," Wallace swallows thickly, his hands shaking.

"I don't quite understand," the butler's brow twitches and the siblings know they've got him. "I have something to attend to, I must go."

Wallace watches the butler leave without a second glance back, the picture left on the table beside the reading chair. Autumn wrings out her hands nervously, also to try and dispel her disappointment. Clearly, going to Jeffrey is no longer an option or a way to get answers.

"That was tense," Autumn pushes the doors to the library open and they quietly leave the house, an air of disappointment and confusion between them. "He looked like we punched him in the stomach."

Wallace catches the hint of hurt within Autumn's voice, and it's understandable that she would feel hurt by him. Jeffrey's keeping secrets from them, secrets he's known all through their lives. And now that they're old enough and more than desperate to know, he won't say a single word. Even if his job were at stake, the siblings wouldn't let their parents get rid of him.

"Now what?" Autumn pauses just shy of the front door, a lost and forlorn look painting her face.

"Do you think she went to school here? I'm sure we can find some yearbooks at the school office or something..." Wallace suggests, though his voice wavers the slight uncertainty.

"We don't know her name and when or _if_ she went to school here either!" Autumn exclaims in frustration. "Why would we try a yearbook?"

"We know that she looks a lot like you, how many people bear a strong resemblance to you?" Wallace points out firmly, keeping calm in her anger. "They know us really well there and we'll be in and out. Or we can find the library. I know they keep a copy of every yearbook there."

"The library, the school is too close to Madame Devereaux," Autumn shudders at the thought of her dance teacher.

Wallace rests a hand on his sister's shoulder. "We can't give up."

_**OoOoOoO**_

"Well, _that_ was pointless!"

Wordlessly, Wallace agrees internally to their turnout at the library. The yearbooks were a dead end. Not a single person with any resemblance to Autumn's looks, or anyone with the last name Mikuri were found. The disappointment this time around was easier to swallow, at least none of their teachers knew of their secret sibling. It would be a horrific turn of events. Imagine, their teachers and extracurricular instructors knowing more about their family than themselves!

"I know that was bad, but maybe there's someone else we can talk to," Wallace stops in his tracks, an abrupt idea flashing in his mind. "What about Juan? He's been our teacher for a long time, even when we were young! If Jeffrey knew something, then, maybe, Juan will."

"But what if he reacts like Jeffrey?" Autumn questions, a hint of worry lacing her voice.

"He's a softy, he wouldn't freeze up and walk away," Wallace waves her off, trying to be optimistic about his former teacher. It's now his turn to be nervous about questioning Juan, he and Wallace have a great bond going.

Autumn didn't connect to Juan like Wallace did, while she still respects the mentor, Wallace _adores _him. It was the gym leader's doing that helped get him to the place he did with his teachings of water types and encouragement of Wallace's skills. He saw a strength in Wallace no one else did, not even his own father who adored Wallace.

And that's the exact reason why Wallace thought of him, Juan is so close to him that he _must_ know about their sister.

Coming up to the gym, a well known second home to the two siblings, they gaze at the tall glass windows, the insignia of the eighth gym badge gleams at them from above the entrance. Simultaneously, they climb up the white steps, walk past the tall pillars, and open the door with a firm confidence. Despite having no real plan, they are harboring no hope and just plan on going out on a limb to ask him. If he doesn't know, they've been a bit desensitized to the feeling of disappointment and if he does, they will control their emotions and try to gather what they can.

"Juan?" Wallace calls out, his voice echoing across the large gym that was once his.

The dim gym lights up as they walk around the glowing blue pool, large pillars peak from the surface. Some scratches are visible here and there, telling stories about it's past battles with many trainers that have come and gone. Autumn relishes the smell of the water, not chlorine as to not harm any pokemon, but fresh, and natural.

"I'm over here!" Juan calls from the within the towering platform bearing the eighth gym badge, his office door swings open and he beckons the two inside. "It's good to see you two again, I trust you're doing well?"

"Yeah, we were in the city and decided to drop by. It's not a bad time, is it?" Wallace questions carefully.

"No, it's a great time to distract me from paperwork," Juan laughs, a gleam in his eyes. "It's good to see that you are taking the time to get out of your office and stretch. And you, Autumn, rising back to the top. I love watching your finesse in contests, it keeps me training hard."  
"Thanks, Juan," Autumn blushes embarrassingly at his praise.

"Of course, now what brings you two here?" he glances between them, a pleasant smile on his face. It's like an old friend wanting to catch up, making it a bit harder, but the want and need to know overcomes Wallace.

"We found this in our house, do you know anything about it?" he slaps the picture onto the desk quickly. Autumn's breath catches and once again they gauge his reaction very carefully.

But he's much better at hiding any information he might know, by not only staying relaxed, but by smiling. Before he even opens his mouth, Wallace can guess what he's going to say, and he's not going to take a chance.

"You know it's not Autumn," he states simply, shutting his former teacher's mouth right up.

Juan lets out a sigh after a short moment of tense silence. "... I know, I don't know much, but I know."

"How much _do _you know?" Wallace presses, coming to the edge of the desk and gripping it tight.

"Enough to say that you two should let it go until you are ready," Juan holds out the picture to Wallace. "You don't know what you're getting into, and you're asking the wrong person. You aren't ready to know this."

"How?" Wallace's voice comes out strained and tense, Autumn was angry only moments ago, and now it's transferred to him.

"You don't know what you're getting into," Juan repeats, clearly beat.

"You've already said that, and if that's the reason, then we'll never know!" Wallace shoves away from the desk, his temper flaring up. He can't handle a betrayal from his mentor as much as he thought he could.

"Wallace, please," Juan begs, handing Autumn the picture and gathering her and her brother in a small circle. "You both have to forgive me, it's not my place to tell you anything about her. And as much as I consider you family, I will not, and cannot, betray the trust I've built with your parents for something so personal. My advice is that you go to _them_ and ask, of course, they're going to know everything about it. They may not be willing to share, but the door will be open. and you'll be on the threshold keeping it open."

Wallace relaxes after a few moments and accepts the dead end; Juan may be a softy, but he's right. They should be going to their parents, not to everyone else. This is a family matter, and it needs to be solved as such. But it's all going to have to wait until another day.

"You're right," Wallace sighs. "I'm sorry for yelling."

"It's alright, I think both of you should cool off for today. It's been stressful as well as emotional," Juan advises, a kind smile on his face. "Go off and enjoy the rest of your day."

"Thanks, Juan," Autumn smiles at him as he retreats to his desk and Wallace stalks out of the room. "See you around."

"Goodbye," the older man waves, a sad smile touching his lips before Autumn is gone and chasing off after her brother.

_**OoOoOoO**_

"What happens now?"

Autumn can't help but blurt it out, but walking along the water for a few hours on an empty stomach is less than desirable. Especially before her birthday. And as if to read her thoughts, Wallace stops abruptly in his casual pace, making her run into him. He turns around and grasps her tightly.

"I'm sorry that we're so down and depressed before your birthday," he coos, twisting her around here and there. "Let's go get some lunch or something."

"It's okay, don't worry about it," Autumn chuckles, pushing herself away from his crushing grip. "Let's get some lunch and maybe, a certain someone can join us."

"Steven? Yeah, sure."

"No! He's busy today... I _meant_ Winona!" Autumn drags out her words dramatically and wiggles her eyebrows at her brother.

"Ah, I don't want to bother her in case she is busy," he rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, a blush dusting his cheeks.

"You won't know until you call her," Autumn pokes his side with a laugh. "Come on, just give it a try. If you don't call her, I will."

"Ack, ok, ok. Fine," Wallace lightly shoves her away and pulls out his pokenav. "Just be quiet."

"I'll try," she giggles giddily, forgetting about her growling stomach.

Turning red in the face, Wallace quickly dials the phone number before Autumn will do it herself. He puts it on speaker so that she doesn't, also, embarrass him while asking a colleague to a lunch date. His heart races at the thought of seeing her and hearing her voice, deep down he prays that she says yes.

"Hello?" Winona answers with a smile in her voice. "Oh, hi, Wallace."  
"H-hi, Winona," Wallace stammers as his sister begins to jump around excitedly. "My sister and I are wondering if you'd like to join us for lunch. It's a beautiful day in Sootopolis, your pokemon would love to fly around here, and the food is great."

"Oh...Um, sure. I'd love to join you guys."

"Great, we'll be at the cafe near the water," Wallace grins and hangs up, a giddy smile on his face. "What?"

"Why did you invite me!?" his sister demands, hands on her hips. "It's supposed to be for you and her only! And then, you are supposed to introduce me."

"I just thought because you were so hungry that you wouldn't mind joining us," he shrugs with mock innocence. "Besides, you said that you wanted to meet her."

"After you started dating!"

"We're not dating, we're having lunch."

"Then you're going to be dating."

"Don't get ahead of yourself."

"Come on, you so like her," Autumn hooks arms with him and drags him to the Lakeside Cafe.

It's a lot more than that, Wallace thinks to himself a smile touching his lips at the thought of seeing Winona.

_**OoOoOoO**_

"Do you need to practice what you're going to say?" Autumn fusses over Wallace as he twirls his straw around his iced tea.

"No, this isn't the first time we've talked," he sighs, he's only a little bit nervous, Autumn is just stressing him out.

"Oh! Is that her?" Autumn points behind him and he dares to glance back to see if she's telling the truth.

She is, and Wallace can't help but smile at Winona as she weaves around the cafe towards their seat. Her long, thick purple hair flowing behind her like a silky waterfall, and she's not in her full gym leader garb. Instead, she's wearing a long sleeved white and blue shirt with some white shorts and blue ballet flats.

"You guys have a similar color scheme going on," Autumn whispers, Wallace shoots her a confused look.

"What?"

"Your pants are the color of her hair... Do I have to point out the white and blues?"

"Just don't say anything like that to her!"

"I won't," Autumn winks just as Winona reaches their table.

"Hello," she greets them both with a pleasant smile.

"Hi, Winona. This is my sister, Autumn," Wallace introduces, standing up to pull out a chair for her.

"Thanks... Nice to meet you, Autumn, I'm a huge fan of your contests and Altaria," Winona shakes the blonde's hand firmly.

"Thank you, it's great to finally meet you after hearing a bit about you," Autumn flashes a pearly white smile.

She decides that she likes Winona, there's a sort of firm 'I'm not going to take crap from anybody' kind of air about her. Steven has mentioned her a couple of times as being very competent at her job and her pokemon are very well trained. Plus, it's completely obvious that Wallace is smitten.

"I hope it was all good," Winona chuckles, giving Wallace a sly grin.

"Of course, can't think of anything bad to say," he smiles charmingly, Autumn finds it funny to see him flirting and being serious about it.

"So tell me, have you done contests before?" Autumn breaks their awkward silence and stares.

"Um, no, I haven't. I've wanted to try, but haven't had the time to," she answers with a shrug. "I know that Wallace has been practicing his own skills in contests."

"Oh has he?" Autumn whirls, dramatically, to look at her brother.

"Just a little," he gestures with his forefinger and thumb just how little he has been practicing.

The trio order their lunches while Wallace explains his recent interest in contests. He says it's because his sister has gotten so good that he wants to give it a try. He's also found them very interesting since she's started. Autumn finds it cool that her brother would take interest in something that's her area of expertise. It almost makes her want to try the champion league.

Winona turns out to be very witty and intelligent, always meeting Wallace's quips with her own, much like Autumn. She finds it refreshing to talk with the woman and to find out more about flying types. Winona seems very interested in Autumn's Altaria, finding its color interesting and wanting to know more about how she came across her.

By the end of lunch, Autumn has Winona's number in her pokenav, and Wallace seems rejuvenated by her presence.

"Oh, quick! Before you leave," Autumn pulls out Altaria's pokeball and lets her out.

Winona gasps a bit in surprise, Wallace grins at her as she stares at Altaria's golden feathers. But, of course, the timid pokemon shies away from the gym leader and hides behind her trainer's head.

"She's a friend, go on," Autumn soothes her pokemon. Holding her carefully, the blonde moves the pokemon towards Winona.

"She's beautiful!"

Altaria coos at her, allowing herself to be pet and hugged by a new person. Wallace grins as Winona chats excitedly to his sister. The gleam in her eyes and happiness in her voice is something he loves to see and hear. This idea of lunch, despite not wanting to admit to Autumn, was wonderful. He's happy to see his sister and Winona getting along well.

"Thank you for showing her to me," Winona hands back the pokemon, Altaria gratefully flies into her arms.

"No problem," Autumn grins, returning her pokemon into her home.

"I'll see you guys later," Winona turns to leave when Wallace clears his throat.

"Hey, maybe sometime when this trouble is all over, we could go out to dinner sometime? Maybe?" he stumbles over his words adorably.

"Of course," Winona blushes at him before calling out her giant Skarmory and heading off.

"That wa-"

"Don't comment," Wallace turns away from his sister.

"Come on! You guys are adorable!"

Walking away, the siblings continue their light banter, feeling so much better about today's events. Autumn is just worried about her birthday tomorrow, of course, her parents won't do anything. They have been at least calling her, her mother has, to wish her as much. But with Team Terra on the loose, she's not expecting a perfect day or even a day at all, which is no problem for her.

_**OoOoOoO**_

_Ugh, this day needs to end,_ Steven runs a hand through his hair in frustration.

"I'm going for a snack run, Miranda," he informs her, rushing by, his jacket in hand.

"Alright, you have twenty minutes before your next meeting," she replies without looking up from her computer.

"Thank you," he calls from the elevator. _She's always on the ball._

Popping out of the building, Steven glances around for any paparazzi that may slow him down and crosses the street to a nearby vendor. The sun is slowly creeping away from the top of the sky, allowing it to be a little cooler during this time. Steven catches a whiff of fried foods wafting from a small square within town. His stomach grumbles appreciatively and he walks a bit faster.

"_Don't eat too many fried foods!"_ Autumn's chastising voice pops into his mind and he smiles fondly at the memory of her bugging him for eating unhealthy foods. But he works it off easily with his collecting and metabolism.

Ordering a burger with some fries, Steven trots over to a table with an umbrella offering shade from the sun. The sounds of Rustboro are comforting for him, these are the sounds he's grown up with over the years. Adults rushing to get back to work or to get home; kids with some pokemon are running around playing and enjoying the warm day.

"Steven?" a voice interrupts, it's familiar and unsettling, ice stabs at his stomach.

"Yes?" he controls his emotions and glances up.

An older woman, about the same age as his dad, is staring down at him with an anxious expression. Her hair looks like it's been pampered in a salon many times, it's dark brown and gleams with the waning sunlight, a few strands of white peek out at Steven here and there. Her face is rounded and a bit delicate, her light blue eyes gleam at him with emotions he can't recognize. But everything about her screams familiar, maybe she's an old business partner or something...No, he would recognize her quicker than that.

"It's been awhile, my name is Angela," she greets, sitting down across from him, her face open and kind.

"O-okay?"

"I'm your mother."

* * *

**Dun dun dunnnnnn!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Eehh! Sorry for the long break, I've gotten writers block and right now it's really hard for me to type up thirteen and I've been packing up little by little. Bleegggghhh! So I'm going to post nine in the hopes it will suffice until I get a grip on things and start to feel comfortable writing Autumn and Steven again. On a bright note, I saw Pacific Rim for the second time and I'm still in love with it, and I move into my dorm in a little more than a week. I'm very excited.**

**There's going to be a bit of trouble going on in this chapter, more mysteries and more drama but that's what you all came for isn't it? ;) And since last chapter's end was a bit mysterious of course I'm not going to talk about it now!**

* * *

"Happy birthday, beautiful," Steven pulls Autumn from her slumber with a kiss on her forehead. "I love you."

"My first present... is ssssleeep..." Autumn turns over and buries her face into her pillow to escape waking up.

"It's well into the day," he chuckles, pulling her into him. "Unfortunately I have to ruin your day with bad news."

"Uh oh..." she opens her eyes and stares at him.

"I have to work today, but! There is a dinner party, not the dinner I had planned originally, but one that I can't miss. I want to take you out for breakfast at least, it's not fancy like I planned, but I'm hoping it will be good enough. I feel really bad that this day isn't like I pl-"

"Like you planned, but you'll make up for it," Autumn hushes him with a finger on his lips. She loves it when he gets all jittery because something messed up his plans, and it's not going the way he wants. It warms her cheeks to see him so worried about making her happy. "Don't worry, I'll at least be seeing you for the morning and then the evening. During the day I'll hang out with Wallace. You can't have me _all_ day."

"If I didn't have to work, I would go out of my way to make sure that I would," he squeezes her tight, kissing her cheek. "You'll get your present from me tonight before the dinner party...if you want to go."

"Of course I do," she rolls over to sit on him, a playful smile on her lips as she lays her hands flat on his bare chest. "Where are we going for breakfast?"

"That diner in town," he answers, sitting up to get her off his stomach, holding her waist tight. "Come on, get ready."

_**OoOoOoO**_

"Once again, happy birthday," Steven smiles at Autumn, holding one hand in his as they eat leisurely. "I still love you."

"I know, you're taking the one step closer to death thing kind of seriously," she comments, noticing how he's holding her hand, staring at her, touching her knee and giving her kisses every chance he gets. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's your day. You should feel as special as you are," Steven tilts his head at her, his lips in a small smile. "Do you want me to stop?"

"Well, I'm not _complaining_, I just want to know if something is wrong," she finishes her food and moves it aside to lean closer to him.

"Nothing's wrong," he brushes away some hair from her face, his blue eyes bright. "I'm just feeling a little bad for leaving you on your day. Nothing's wrong."

"Don't worry about leaving me for work, it's just a day and it's not like I'm going anywhere," she hums touching his chin softly. "I'll survive."

"I know..." Steven tugs on her hair a bit, almost like a nervous habit, but it goes over Autumn's head. "So what are your plans for the day?"

"Right now, I'm hanging out with you. I'll probably be with Wallace for lunch and he'll give me some ridiculous gift that I'll love. And then, I'll be with you at the dinner party, trying to keep up with all the business talk but having fun anyway," she explains before remembering something exciting. "Oh, hey! Guess what? Wallace and I had a date with Winona yesterday."

"Really? How did that go?" Steven relaxes and settles into the new development.

"It was fun, I really like Winona. She's so funny and smart. She harrasses Wallace much like I do, and I can tell that he needs it. They interact... a lot like we did before we started dating," Autumn admits with a smile.

"Yeah, they used to be more subtle about it back when I was Champion," Steven reminisces about old times fondly.

He talks about how the two first met and how they instantly connected but got no further than that. Wallace became very shy when around her but went out of his way to make sure that they worked with each other and that she was present at every meeting. It's nice to hear these things about her brother when she was gone on her little adventure, it gives her more insight to the way he was acting yesterday.

"I have to go, but I will be home at around five to get you for the party, that's when you'll get your present," Steven pays for their meal and walks her out of the diner, her hand in his.

"Alright, don't worry. I'll be fine, I'm going to meet Wallace in Sootopolis."

"Do you want me to drop you off?"

"Sure."

_**OoOoOoO**_

"Happy birthday to the best sister ever!" Wallace shouts, picking up Autumn and twirling her around like a rag doll. "You're so old now!"

"Yeah, yeah, put me down," she tries to push away from him but he locks his grip on her. "Wally!"

"What? I can't help it, I feel old," he scoffs, setting her on the ground in the foyer of their old home.

"Why are we here?" Autumn grimaces at the place, the downside of Wallace looking for a house near the League that fits his elegant taste is that their meetings often take place in the presence of their parents. Even though he's only been looking for a little over half a year.

"Mom and Dad, who left because they didn't want you to know but I'm telling you anyway, had left some cake for you. No present, just cake, made by Jeffrey," Wallace explains, slowly and carefully as if she'll storm out of the place. But instead, she jerks in surprise.

"What?" she glances up at him and he snickers.

"Yeah, I know. It was weird but they insisted," he shrugs waltzing into the dining hall. "Surprise!"

"Nice," Autumn mutters, eyeing the chocolate cake with unwavering, new hunger. "Thank you, Wallace. I really like this two person party."

"Good because Megan, Tasha, Dave and some kid named Noah, were busy but wish you a happy birthday," he relays a memorized message to her.

"Oh, Noah was the intern Tasha fancied that she had to train in," she explains for him, sitting at the table.

The little party turns out to keep her happy and content, later on the three friends and one stranger come in and party for a while. Autumn enjoys meeting Noah, a shy but polite fellow, it's also good to see Dave once again. His energy is always welcome, especially at her birthday party. Jeffrey, having gotten over their little episode, lights the candles on the cake and gets the song going before giving her a generous piece of it. Its sweetness and delicious chocolate pieces are more than heavenly. Another perfect addition to her day.

But her favorite part has to be the present that Wallace hands her in a bag with their mother's company on it containing a shirt with his face and '#1 Fan' on it.

"Funny, I told Steven that you would give me a gift like this," Autumn snickers, staring at her brother's large winking face.

"I'm glad that I didn't disappoint," Wallace grins as the others chuckle in the background.

"I kinda wish you did..."

The party ends smoothly with Jeffrey bagging up leftover cake and Wallace tossing confetti at them as they leave. Autumn can't believe how happy he is, it's as if it's his own birthday. She laughs at his antics and manages to sit down and have a drink with him, neither talk about their sister. Both feel as though it would dampen things, and then they feel guilty for thinking that so they have to bring her up. Only because they're curious...

"I wonder if her birthday parties were as big as yours," Autumn wonders leaning back in her chair. "If she was born in the morning or at night. Would she want chocolate cake? Did she even like cake."

"We'll find out when our parents are done running their businesses and are home," Wallace supplies, trying not to think too hard about their sister. "I just hate that all we know is what she looks like and when she was born. Not even a name."

"I know..." Autumn glances at her brother's watch. "I have to go, thanks for the party. Best brother ever."

"I know," he shrugs like it was nothing. "Have fun, I'll be at G-men HQ monitoring a few things."

"You have fun, too." she kisses his cheek before heading out.

_**OoOoOoO**_

Autumn is very familiar with the setting of a business party. Before being sent off to school in Rustboro, her father held many at their house and she was forced to dress up and play the part of a perfect daughter. Of course, Wallace was more of a natural and she had to stay glued to his side all night. Even then, her father would barely acknowledge her except to answer the question of her name and age. She was surprised he knew any of those things.

Now, her father doesn't hate her, he just doesn't particularly like her or go out of his way to see her. He used to get her things, indirectly through Jeffrey, to show that he does know she exists but she never put much thought into it. Even now, with everything worked through, he barely acknowledges her; muttering a hello or a nod in her direction when in the room. At least Mom has the decency to have a shallow conversation with her.

But now Autumn has Sam to give her the attention and care that her father never did, and that's good enough.

"Are you ready?" Steven holds up a medium sized box, a tinge of excitement in his voice.

"After Wallace's gift? Yeah," she replies, happily accepting it while sitting on their bed with their clothes already out. Well, Steven's clothes are out, he insisted that he had something for her for the party.

He scoffs at that and watches her pull out the folded, ruby red dress from within, a shocked expression on her face. It's a sleeveless dress, with a black belt around the waist and an overlay of lace that falls to an uneven hemline possibly above her knees. It connects in the back above a rounded cut out detail to show off a bit of her upper back. It's beautiful and matches her earrings perfectly.

"You spoil me too much," she manages to breathe and hug Steven. "I need to catch up."

"You're fine," he chuckles, kissing her forehead softly. "I'm just making sure you know I love you."

"I know... Are you sure everything's fine?" Autumn searches his face for any hint of a problem.

"Yes! I just love you, okay?" he tilts his head, not worried about her reading a thing on his face.

"...Sorry, I guess I'm just not used to this yet," she smiles sheepishly, kissing him lightly on the lips. "You ready to party?"

"Don't expect the same as yours," he rolls his eyes playfully, getting up to change into a more formal suit that his usual work attire.

"I'll try not to," she gathers her things and heads into the bathroom to change.

"Are you still shy?" he taunts her with a chuckle.

"No! I just like my privacy from you sometimes!" she calls back through the door, peeling off her day clothes to switch to her evening attire.

The dress slips on surprisingly well, Steven must have looked at her other dresses inside her closet for her size. She clasps the dress clothes and models for herself in front of the bathroom mirror. It hugs her perfectly, its thin black belt fastening comfortably and the lantern shaped skirt highlights her hips. The red gleam of her earrings matches the dress well, Autumn grins at the ensemble. Steven is surprisingly good with matching.

"Thank you, Steven. I love it," Autumn walks out of the bathroom to find him pulling on his usual jacket over a new tux. "A little formal?"

"Dad wanted me to look my best, and since my usual stuff is what these people have seen me in more than once, he wanted me to change it up a bit," he explains, picking at his black tie. It's so odd to see him in something aside from his usual outfit, ties just aren't his thing, at least the jacket is the same. "Shall we head out?"

"I suppose," Autumn sighs playfully, accepting his outstretched hand. "Hopefully something interesting happens."

_**OoOoOoO**_

Devon is a name, and place, that Autumn has grown accustomed to having within her life. It's tall black, with elegantly designed gates and a cobblestone path marked with lampposts. Tall arches marking the entrance and gleaming windows have been her welcome sight for a long time. Its towering structure looms over the city, the tall windows reflecting sunlight, like a beacon to all newcomers.

Inside Devon's meeting hall it looks absolutely stunning. The room is long and narrow, used for the obvious: meetings. But just like tonight, there are other gatherings that are held here, and Sam goes wild. Everything must be in order before, during, and after the party, the food has to be right, drinks have to be set right, and each table has to be covered perfectly. If not, watch out, Sam will be there.

"This must really be important," Autumn gazes around at the dolled up room.

Long tables stand on each side of the room, on the west side the table is between the tall windows, while the other is backed up to the wall. Dishes and dishes of colorful, elegantly prepared food line each of the tables with a few rounds of drinks sparkling at the ends. In a few spots of the room, lie a few round tables with Devon's insignia sewn into the thick cloth for those who want to sit and talk. At the end of the room is a band, setting up their equipment to play softly in the background while people mingle.

"My dad just likes things to be perfect," Steven explains, with a wary glance around the room. "Dad?"

"Over here, Son!" Sam calls from the other side of a door right by the food table on the right. He's speaking with a woman in a white apron who looks just as stressed as he, her hair is pulled into a sloppy bun and she's holding a notebook that seems to have notes on it for her.

"Uh oh, here we go. I'm going to help get things set, go pick a table and relax before people start arriving," Steven gently nudges her in the direction of a few tables near the window. "I'll be there soon."

Without a word of argument, Autumn takes a spot at the table and watches as Steven calms his father and gets things set into motion. Watching him work is like watching a conductor lead an orchestra. People approach them with a question and he wastes no time in answering them, others do as they're told without a second thought. Autumn remembers certain moments in school when he would take over and be a leader for others as well. It suits him and he never abuses it.

Finally after a few minutes of getting some last minute stuff done, people start arriving through the doors. Autumn watches as women with straight backs, lifted chins and beautiful dresses strut into the room while men with the same demeanor and proper attire sweep in as well. A few of them look friendly, but Autumn makes no attempt at any small talk. She knows just how shallow some can be or how some just want to talk about their business and that's it.

"Come mingle with me," Steven pulls her from her spot at the table and around they go.

Steven seems to remember almost all their names and engages each into a conversation that suits each personality. He makes sure, with some arrogant businessmen his age, to emphasize the fact that Autumn is his girlfriend when introducing her. She attempts to keep up with each conversation while not finding them extremely interesting, but she likes to hear all the talk.

At some point, Steven becomes tired of talking and just skirts around the edges of each conversation. With Autumn at his side, he tries to keep her entertained while passing out his business card and keeping up a good profile for Devon. And after a while, Autumn gets comfortable enough to wander around on her own. Getting caught in a few casual conversations, surprisingly, she even makes a few friends.

Steven watches her from a table across the room, he's half listening to a conversation concerning a man's lucky stocks in the market and how he loves to take chances for the good of his family. He's a good man and means the very best, but can get a bit off track at times of excitement. Steven tunes back out of the conversation and watches as Autumn's face suddenly lights up. Her lips turn upwards into a smile before she forms the word 'Dad', warming not only Steven's heart, but the person the word is directed to: Sam.

But just beyond Sam, off to the left of both he and Autumn, is a slightly familiar dot of light blue hair. Not Wallace's, but the place where he gets it from: Wendel, dressed in a tux conversing with others. At the sound of his daughter's voice calling the name that he has been for her life, even though he doesn't treat her like a lot of other fathers would, he turns around. A bit of surprise flashes across his face before it's replaced by something else.

Steven watches intently as Autumn doesn't see her actual father and rushes by him, and a few others, towards Sam who welcomes her with open arms. Wendel's face turns from confusion to a quick flash of hurt. This surprises Steven; Autumn doesn't talk about her father much, but it's been clear that he does not want a lot to do with her. But for him to show hurt and confusion must mean he cares for her on some level he doesn't want to admit to her.

Sam squeezes her tight and a delightful conversation ensues, their eyes bright while Autumn's cheeks are tinged slightly red from the fatherly attention. Wendel also notices this, and his face contorts even more. And then, without another look towards the two, bows his head and quickly leaves the room. He weaves through the crowd swiftly before ducking out the door without a second thought.

Excusing himself from the table, Steven casually makes his way over to his dad and girlfriend. The hum of music settles like a thin blanket over the party, keeping all the conversations going and ridding the room of awkward pauses. Steven weaves around and comes up next to Autumn, snaking an arm around her waist. Instinctively, she leans into him while continuing her talk with Sam. Her sweet, ocean-like scent envelops him and he smiles at the warmth he receives from it.

"What's up?" Autumn tilts her head to stare up at her beloved after Sam runs off to talk with more people. "You look like you saw a ghost."

"Well, in a sense, I kind of did. Let's go sit," Steven takes her hand and leads her to the table she had sat at earlier.

"What happened?" she settles in next to him, leaning on his body for support and warmth.

"I just saw your dad," he starts off, glancing down to see her reaction. Her jaw clenches and she looks away from him. "He heard you call 'Dad' and was assuming it was him you were talking to. Imagine his surprise when it wasn't..."

"I doubt there was any," her voice comes out cold and disconnected, Steven narrows his eyes at her in surprise. She hasn't sounded like that for a long time; the day he tried to apologize for something he knew nothing about.

"Actually, there was, he was not only surprised, but hurt that you weren't talking to him," he explains carefully, gauging her reaction with each word.

"What?" she pulls away to stare at him with wide eyes. "Are you sure?"

"I've had some training and experience in reading faces. I know what I saw."

"But that would require him to care, and given past experience, I know he doesn't."

"How can you be so sure?" Steven challenges, he doesn't like to see Autumn so vulnerable at the mention of a man that doesn't appreciate her. He doesn't like that she tries so hard and Wendel turns his cheek the other way. She wastes her time, but if it's important to her then it's important to Steven, but he needs to know just how bad and deep this runs.

"I know my dad, Steven. There is not a time I can tell you where he does care," she turns to him, her words firm and her eyes pale.

"How can you say that?" Steven urges a bit more, his voice becoming softer as he leans forward to comfort her. "There has to be a time where he's told you he's loved you or something."

"Steven, I don't mean to wallow or mope in my own despair, but it's going to be hard for you to understand. I _know_ that Sam tells you on multiple occasions that he loves you or is proud of you. When my father complimented me at that Grand Festival they saw years ago, that was the first acknowledgement of my skills. Why do you think I gaped? He's never said something like that to me and what did he say? 'I enjoyed watching it all', not a comment on how I did or anything," Autumn illustrates for him, keeping her voice level and quiet.

"I remember... But he did also say that you did good at the first contest, that counts," Steven tries to point out the good and she sighs again.

"Here, let me help you understand our positions," she runs her hands through her hair. "Back when I was 8, Wallace was 10, we wanted bikes for Christmas to practice for when we got older and could go biking around Hoenn. Dad usually does the Christmas shopping so we told him what we wanted, and he said he would put a word in with Santa. So, the big day rolls in and what happens? Wallace got a bike and I got nothing. Mom was on a business trip and Dad 'simply forgot' that I wanted one too."

"He forgot?" Steven frowns, he got his answer to how deep these problems went back.

"Yep, I know for certain he just didn't want to get me one. So, Wallace had to teach me how to ride a bike and since I couldn't go bike riding with him, he never went. From then on, I bought myself Christmas presents, Wallace wrapped them up and we made a big show for ourselves when I opened them," Autumn fiddles with her necklace, a smile on her lips at the thought of her brother being so wonderful to her when she was little. It's thanks to him she isn't as messed up as she should be.

"I...I didn't know," Steven mutters weakly, he wanted to know, he just didn't expect it to be so...sad. "I just think there's something hidden underneath, I know what I saw and it was there."

"It's okay, Steven. I'm over it. I just wanted you to know that if you tell me he showed some emotion for me other than distaste, don't expect me to believe you that easily," she touches his cheek softly, her warm smile returning to her face. In the back of her head, her sister's baby face appears, was it her he was thinking of? "So, tell me, how is the party going for you?"

"It's the usual for me. It has its moments of excitement, but then it mellows out pretty quickly," he relaxes, leaning his head into her hand.

"There was excitement?" she raises a brow tauntingly.

"It happens," he assures her with a grin. "Are you okay? I know this isn't what you wanted..."

"Don't worry about me, this is actually quite interesting. The people here are so energetic and confident, I don't mind it. It's a bit of fun, actually," she soothes him, tapping his jaw a few times.

"I can't believe you said that. You? Enjoying something that doesn't involve contests?"

"You're just jealous that my Aggron is prettier."

"If I'd known you were going to do that to him, I would have kept him. No one puts pink bows on an Aggron."

"He enjoyed it, Metagross does."

"Yeah, I know... My pokemon are weird like that," Steven chuckles at the memory of Autumn going on a rampage and dressing up not only her pokemon, but his as well. That was an interesting day at their household. Big scary pokemon wearing the prettiest of accessories and looking anything but intimidating. "Want to walk around with me?"

"Are you going to reinforce that we're dating? That was pretty adorable," she takes his hand and they set back on the crowd.

"I just can't help it," he shrugs slowly, merging them into the small mass of business owners.

And once again, they are back into the routine that they had established earlier, touching base with a few or just talking with others. Autumn finds herself slipping in a few comments and being accepted easily into a new element. Even though her conversation skills aren't like Steven's, it's enough to make herself seem knowledgeable in Steven's business. From group to group they go, until Steven has to break away to speak with his dad about something about a speech. This leaves Autumn to mingle alone once again, but he feels better about her being by herself.

Wandering near the drinks area, Autumn picks up a blue themed drink and takes a quick sip. The liquid is smooth and warms her up as she scans the crowd with the slightest of hesitation. But when a dark haired, older man walks up with a kind smile, she forces herself to relax and smile back.

"Hello," she greets him politely, wondering just why he's walking up to her of all people.

"Hi, might you be the daughter of Wendel and Sherri Mikuri?" he narrows his eyes, searching her face as if he's seen her before.

Autumn's heart clenches, how does he know her parents? Duh, businessman. But how does he recognize her as being connected to them?

"Um, yes," she replies awkwardly, she opens her mouth to say her name when he frowns.

"I thought you would look much older... Well, actually I thought you...Oh, excuse me," he bows his head, an embarrassed flush on his face. "I thought you were someone else, sorry for the mistake."

"No, wait," Autumn reaches out as he turns to leave. "You're lying, you thought I was my sister, do you know her? What happened to her?"

She can't help it, each question just tumbles out of her mouth and she hates how desperate she sounds. But this man could have the answers to her questions, and how is it that this random guy knows about her sister? So, strangers know about her too?

"I'm an old friend of your father's... if he hasn't told you then I'm not crossing that line," the man holds up his hands as if in surrender. "Call me Bruce," he fishes out a business card. "If you or your brother need anything, come for a visit."

"O-okay," she stammers, accepting the little brown card from him.

Feeling satisfied for giving her something to find him with, Bruce turns and disappears into the room without looking back. Autumn watches him with curiosity, how come her parents never mentioned him? He didn't look familiar at all, but the information he seems to possess puts Autumn off. Just how many people know the true story? How many are hiding the secrets? Could Sam know and be sworn to not tell her?

"Autumn?"

She slips Bruce's card into the front of her dress, hopefully, Steven won't be finding it later. That could be a messy ending and just added stress that neither need nor welcome within their lives. Steven comes up behind her, she tries to wipe the shock and shaken look off her face.

"Yeah?" she turns to him, a raise of her eyebrow and slight smirk is all it takes for him to catch the weird vibe she gives off.

"What happened?" he demands worriedly, and she waves him off.

"I just got sucked into an awkward conversation with some weird people, that's all," she lies quickly, hoping he can't tell.

But he can.

"Are you sure?" he tilts his head, she feels like a child making up an excuse to an unbelieving teacher.

"Yeah, I'm sure. It was really weird," she begs with her eyes for him to drop it, thankfully, he gets the message, and lets it go.

"Okay," he sighs softly and pulls her toward the front of the room where Sam is preparing to welcome everyone and get some business started.

"Hello, everyone!" Sam's voice booms from the speakers, the band quiets down as well as the chatter. "Now, first off, I welcome all of you to Devon here in Rustboro on this fine evening. I've been enjoying chatting with you all bu-"

Sam cuts out as something breaks through a glass window and rolls to the center of the room. The first to react is Steven, with a shout of 'Get down!' he grabs Autumn and pulls her into him and crashes onto the floor. A loud bang is heard and the room is filled with thick, black smoke. Screams ensue as people try their best to get away from the danger, many of them trip and fall only to be stepped on. The panic is only worsened when, through the windows, come figures crashing in. Autumn clings to Steven as glass showers down on everyone and voices bark orders amongst the chaos.

Despite the mayhem, Steven manages to keep his cool and twist around to grab Autumn's shoulder. They need to be the ones to get everyone out of here and get rid of the problem. Hoisting them both to their feet, Steven catches her gaze, her blue eyes are wide with panic while his are alight with control.

"Don't panic, we have to get everyone out of here," he steadies her and she gathers her wits.

"Alright," she nods, finding her own pokeballs on her belt. "How are we going to do this?"

Around them, the shadowy figures are breaking party goers off into small groups and using Camerupt and Sandslash to keep them from even considering escaping. Bowing their heads, Steven and Autumn allow themselves to be herded to the corner of the room. Grasping pokeballs they wait for a long moment, glancing around the room to see how many Terra members there are. Four in total with one pokemon each guarding a group and the doors.

"I'll go up to the next floor and you go down and see if it's safe for people to get out," Steven whispers to her, a slight edge to his voice. "Okay?"

"Yep," Autumn pushes the button on her ball, it grows to a large size and then they're attacking. "Vaporeon, Hydro Pump!"

"Meteor Mash, Metagross!" Steven calls out.

In a flash, more chaos ensues, but this time, it's the good kind. Vaporeon manages to shock the ground types, crashing into their trainers. Autumn barks the order for everyone to leave. She and Vaporeon hold down the Terra grunts at the door as the crowd escapes in a panic.

Metagross's bright attack not only stuns the pokemon but forces them through the wall and out of the building with their trainers pushed with them. Without a glance back, Steven and his pokemon rush up the flight of stairs, leaving Autumn to clear the room. She finds Sam sitting on the ground near the stage, breathing hard and with fear.

"Sam!" she rushes over, her heart pounds in her ear from all the excitement. "Are you okay?"

"I am fine, dear," he calms her, sitting up and taking a deep breath. "We have to see what they're doing. Are the lower floors secure?"

"Yes, let's go," Autumn helps him to his feet and, with Vaporeon at her side, rushes him to the stairs.

Shouts and crashes echo from the short stairwell, Autumn swallows her fear for Steven and pushes herself up faster. Immediately, Vaporeon washes away a few preliminary enemies, surprising a few grunts in the process. Metagross seems to appreciate the lighter load as he bashes a few more pokemon together and tosses them aside. Autumn finds Steven caught in the middle of a circle of grunts.

"Steven!" Autumn shouts, but Sam holds her back.

"He can take care of himself, hon, we need to clear this room of the other grunts so he can focus on getting past them," Sam instructs her expertly, she gives him a funny look. "I may watch a few crime shows when working late."

With a quiet chuckle, Autumn directs Vaporeon to a new wave of grunts, seeming to come from nowhere. Leaping into the middle of the fray, before any pokemon are called, Vaporeon releases a wave around itself. Water Pulse sends the wave of grunts back down the stairwell, clearing the room of them except for the circle which seems to be taken care of.

"Ha! That was fun!" Tabitha's voice pierces the quiet room.

Autumn and Steven keep Sam behind them as the circle opens up to allow Tabitha through. Vaporeon and Metagross growl in front of their trainers at the new threat stalking forward. Behind Tabitha looms a very angry looking Camerupt, its eyes are ablaze with anger, ready to fight.

"But you're already too late," he taunts, twirling a black jump drive between his fingers. "I've got what I wanted and now we're leaving."  
"Give it back," Sam demands angrily. "You don't know what you're doing."  
"Shut it, old man," Tabitha glares at him, his Camerupt snorts out black smoke as if to enforce his trainer's words. "It's too bad we don't get to play a little more, but orders are orders, and I'd rather not deal with Courtney's wrath. Let's go, children."

Steven clutches Autumn's wrist protectively, he and Sam box her in between them as the grunts lift tiny purple balls over their heads and smash them on the ground. A black smoke fills the room, a lot like earlier, rendering their sense of sight useless. Another explosion rocks the floor and footsteps clear the room immediately.

It takes only a moment for the smoke to clear, allowing the two men to leave Autumn's side and quickly investigate the floor. Autumn rushes to the gaping hole in the wall and peeks out to see a helicopter zooming away high above the city. Smacking her fist against the ruined rubble of the wall, Autumn silently curses their luck.

"What did they do?" she turns to her boyfriend and his dad.

"Give me a minute..." Steven mutters, his eyes narrowed at the screen as he types furiously, his fingers pounding the keys.

"Autumn, will you call Jenny?" Sam wonders, running around the room in a slight panic for his company. "I have to make sure the other rooms are clear."

"Sure," she nods curtly, grabbing Steven's pokegear from his pocket and heading to the stairwell.

The conversation goes over quickly with Jenny, she alerts some other G-men and within ten to fifteen minutes agents start appearing at Devon. A few converge on the party crowd to interrogate them while a squad hikes through the building, keeping it secure. Steven works meticulously and comes up with the stolen data file.

Turns out, Team Terra were after schematics and not just regular schematics, the one used for pokeballs. The basic catching mechanism and algorithms used for any type of pokeball being constructed. Put in a few extra equations and add to the design and voila! You've got yourself a catching machine that can catch almost anything. That, with Team Terra, is a mixture for trouble.

"Not much was taken, I'm sure Tabitha didn't know much of what he was looking at," Steven tells Jenny, a slight smirk on his face. "But it won't take them long to find all the stuff they need to make whatever it is they want."

"Ugh, they're going to go into hiding with that info," Autumn groans as Jenny promises to have everything taken care of.

"We have agents deployed all over looking for Terra, now we're going to track shipments of machinery of any kind. If they're building some sort of capture machine, we'll know right away," Jenny assures Sam and Steven.

Sam looks a bit distraught, making Autumn feel a bit bad, this is something that Devon holds important. Manufacturing pokeballs is also a part of what Devon distributes, who knows if they got a hold of some sensitive info? There could've been a new design in there that Terra won't mind exploiting.

"We'll alert you to anything," Jenny salutes the two before leaving her team to finish the rest of the job.

Having been talking with agents documenting the events of the party, helping people from the party calm down, and talking with her brother on the phone, Autumn heads back up to the fifth floor. She had left as soon as Jenny entered the lab, not wanting to be in the way of Steven's report on what they lost, and helped on the lower levels. But she's still shaken up herself, not that the experience was traumatic, just surprising.

"Steven?" Autumn finds him at a lab table, staring intently at the computer screen.

"Hmm?" he barely hums, his brows furrowed together in concentration.

"Are you okay?" she leans on him from behind, her cheek resting on the top of his head.

"Yeah, I'm just...frustrated. They could have gotten into some real sensitive stuff in there," he reaches up to cup the side of her head. "I'm glad they didn't though... Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just surprised by the attack is all."

"Should we be getting home? I'm exhausted."

"Yeah, what about your dad? Will he be okay?" Autumn straightens her back, walking with Steven towards the entrance.

"I sent him home to rest. I'll be here the next few days cleaning up and fighting off the media," Steven rubs his face tiredly. "I don't want to think about it. Let's go."

"Well, I have to say, this was the most exciting birthday ever! I should come to these more often," she kisses his cheek softly. "Happy birthday to me, I love you."

"Don't be expecting this same thing, not all are so adrenaline pumping," he chuckles, squeezing her tight. "I love you, too."

* * *

**Was a pretty long one, I think the next few are long chapters until 12 and it's like six pages or something XD **

**Until next time!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! This is my first post from my college dorm! College is going great, my classes start on the third and I'm a little nervous but excited. I've finally gotten time to sit down, relax and just write and it was great. So now that I'm back in the swing of things, I have to say I can't wait to get deeper into this story. I hope you guys end up choosing to review because I love hearing what you have to say and I promise I don't bite. **

**In this chapter, Autumn finally gets to meet Winona. I'm not usually a canon character shipping (Idk what their ship is, but I think you know what I mean) kind of person, but there is something so adorable about Winona and Wallace that I can't just mess with that ship. I can't make Wallace love an OC it just has to be Winona XD. **

* * *

Just as predicted, Team Terra went into hiding right after the raid at Devon. Surveillance was set up all around Hoenn to track any unusual activity. Steven and Sam have been worked to the bone trying to clean up and repair the mess made by Terra. Windows were destroyed, tables, and even some computer equipment were ruined. Not only that, they are working hard to reassure those who were at the party that their business is now safe and they are still thriving.

Autumn and Wallace don't have time to look for more info on the picture, nor do they have the time to wait for their parents to get home from work. They're too busy helping Jenny with scouting abandoned warehouses, false leads, and investigating businesses. Almost a full week and nothing has popped up...

_**OoOoOoO**_

"Are you hiding from me? Who are you talking to?" Autumn demands of her brother as he hides in his office closet. File cabinets and some spare clothes surround him as he huddles in the corner, his pokenav at his ear. His hat is off, leaving his tousled short hair out to air, and his cape surrounds him as if to help conceal him.

"Why are you looking for me in here?" he shoots back with a glare. "This isn't your office."

"Don't sass me!" Autumn declares with a laugh. "It's Winona, isn't it?"

"No!" he covers the receiver. "Okay...maybe."

"Quit being a baby," she grabs his arm and pulls him from his hiding spot, pulling him to sit on the leather couch in front of his desk. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't know, if you'd stop _interrupting_, maybe I'd find out..." he snaps playfully, poking her side to send her into a fit of giggles. "What happened?"

Autumn leans back against the slightly stiff couch, propping her legs across Wallace's while listening in on their conversation. At the moment, she is taking a break from staring at computer screens all morning in search of Terra. Wallace has been busy with both Pokemon League and G-men paperwork, and there's still a short pile of papers on his desk where his hat is sitting. It looks a bit exhausting, and she feels bad for her brother.

Glancing at him, Autumn can see the stress lines along his forehead and the red marks on his temples where he rubs his thumb and forefinger whenever he gets stressed. There are dark bruises under his eyes, ones to match hers, and his clothes are becoming wrinkled. But there is a bit of light on his face. His turquoise eyes are glittering and his lips are turned upwards in a smile. Autumn can only think that this is obviously Winona's doing.

"I'll clear it with Jenny first...Yeah, I guess I'll bring her...I'm just kidding, I do love her," Wallace pats his sisters knees fondly, winking at her playfully. "We just have a strict tough love policy. But don't worry, we will be there today to check it out...Yep, see ya."

"Aww, you look so cute talking to her," Autumn leans forward, wrapping her arms around her brother's neck. "Was she concerned you were being mean to me?"

"No, she was concerned your feelings were hurt or something," he pushes her away with a snicker. "Let's go see, Jenny."

Scurrying down the long corridors of the underground HQ, Wallace and Autumn race to see who finds Jenny first. Despite their fatigue, they find energy and excitement in a possible new development with Team Terra, and also in seeing Winona. It doesn't take long to run into the Jenny, it just takes longer to explain what's going on.

Apparently, Winona has noticed a few shady characters running around her city, and so have the residents. To keep them calm, Winona investigated it and was promptly told to mind her business by a stopped character. And even earlier today, she was alarmed by a small group of helicopters flying high around the city with large storage containers as cargo. That's when she called Wallace, and that's what they're doing looking for Jenny.

"Grab your gear, and head out there, immediately," she states the order calmly, though there is a hint of anxiety. This could be the first actual lead they've had since the party. "Be careful, and try to find out just what they're doing. Try to keep it strictly recon until you find evidence that this is the real thing. We can't mess up now, have Winona join you there as well."

"Right," the siblings nod their heads curtly before hurrying back to Wallace's office to grab a headset.

"Are you exci-"

"Don't finish that sentence," Wallace silences his sister, straightening his clothes and slapping his cap on his head before pulling her behind him out of the building, Fortree bound.

_**OoOoOoO**_

"I'm so happy that you guys could come and investigate," Winona greets the two at the outskirts of Fortree.

Autumn likes her outfit, and the colors still remind her of her brother. With the main flight suit being a light blue, almost turquoise, white sleeves are marked with a single stripe of blue on each arm. Her white pant legs meet blue shoes that not only match her helmet, but her gloves too. It makes Winona look like a pilot ready to do some 'Don't try these at home' tricks. Flying types definitely suit her.

"Of course, we can't just leave you or your city vulnerable to such a villainous team," Wallace bows his head slightly, his voice smooth and calming.

"It's actually a bit exciting," Autumn grins, absolutely enjoying her brother's suave demeanor for this woman.

"I have to agree," Winona nods, her lavender eyes bright.

"Shall we get going, then?" Wallace straightens his back and makes a sweeping gesture for the two women to follow him into Route 120.

Autumn glances at the opening behind them, which is the city itself, and admires the houses among trees. Such a peaceful city that must be a joy and wonder to live in and explore. Maybe with the new arrangements with Wallace and Winona, she'll get to visit here a lot...

Turning back towards the front, behind the two conversing lovebirds, Autumn grimaces at the looming thicket of trees ahead. It's about mid afternoon, making it seem a lot less frightening than it could be. But the grass as tall as Autumn's shoulders, and trees so tall that even with craning your neck you couldn't see the top, more than sends shivers up her spine. It makes her walk abnormally close to her brother, her emergency sacrifice to whatever Gods bid for it.

Hearing their murmured voices and seeing their shoulders hunched toward each other with interest makes Autumn ache for Steven's presence. It's not like he's been ditching her, but he has been somewhat distant lately. Of course, Devon is in a state of slight emergency, and now work is piling up from the break they took to clean up. Just a little bit longer until he's not so busy any more and she will have him to herself.

"Keep close," she catches her brother mutter to the both of them as they come along to a path covered by thick bushes. The main path of 120 continues on down a gradual, grassy slope giving way to a beautiful route. "Autumn, be in the middle, you're still a bit new. Winona, take the rear, please."  
_Don't I get a please? _Autumn thinks to herself cynically, wanting so badly to voice it, but deciding against it. Their cover could be blown, or her brother could hate her forever for ruining something that's obviously there.

Assuming his given positions, Autumn keeps hunched over and alert as they slowly push aside branches and foliage as they trek farther. Winona confirmed that the helicopters seemed to head in this general direction.

It feels odd to be on a mission in broad daylight, just like the other few times she'd been on missions. This should be like a movie. In her head, it would be pitch black, they would be wearing black spandex suits and rolling around languidly. Even a little background music would be greatly appreciated, especially for epic battles. No wonder Steven and Wallace are so bored, if they had actually put some creativity into their jobs, they would have fun.

"Get down," Wallace pulls Autumn down by her wrist, ripping her from her thoughts and forcing her back into reality with a jolt of fear.

"What?" she whispers airily beside him, peeking through the brush, with Winona beside her, to view a broken building.

"Did you hear anything I said?" Wallace demands quietly, she shakes her head sheepishly. "They don't have a guard to watch the perimeter, we're going to go around back. Winona will stay out back and watch for anything inside and outside the building, you and I are going in to investigate. Don't leave my side, and follow my lead if we get caught."

"Okay."

Keeping low on their haunches, they inch around the perimeter, keeping an eye on slow moving vehicles following a curved path around to the side of the building. Autumn stares at the trucks passing by, not really absorbing what they say, just staring. Ahead of her, Wallace comes to a sudden stop. Winona and Autumn grunt at the quick impact before shooting the leader a dirty look.

"What's wrong?" Autumn is the first to ask, dusting dirt off of her bottom.

"Look. At. That..." Wallace points to a truck rolling by, his eyes are wide and his hand is shaky.

Without much thought, Autumn follows his finger and studies the logo on a nearby trailer ambling by. Her heart wrenches in her chest at the familiar blue cloud and cursive, curly 'M' emblazoned on its side. It pegs her as something she knows, but no conclusions should be jumped to at this point.

"Let's keep going," Autumn encourages her brother, trying to deter him from thinking that their father intentionally had anything to do with this .

Returning to the brush, Wallace and Winona scan the area, for Autumn is untrained and creating a bit of noise. Her feet shuffle loudly on the ground, twigs and rocks collide or break causing her to swear under her breath a lot. Wallace forces himself to ignore her instead of standing up and kicking her out of this mission. Thankfully, Winona is _way_ more patient with her, and even helps her out of rough spots.

By the time they reach the back, Wallace is nearly at the end of his rope and is tempted to use his sister as bait. Autumn can sense this and is dangerously tempted to do something as he quickly reports back to Jenny.

"Winona, we're not sure how long we will take in there or what we'll find. But if there's a large commotion, and we don't say anything to you, report it to Jenny, and get out of here," Wallace urges her. Autumn rolls her eyes, she hates it when her brother and Steven go into full protective mode.

"No, I'm going to stay, and I'm going to get you guys out of whatever trouble you are in," she counters firmly.

"We don't know how dangerous they are or who is inside."

"I don't think that matters. I helped out when Magma and Aqua were taking over and from what I hear, the admins are now in charge. I can take them."

"They've gotten even better, that's why we've been struggling, they are faster and stronger."

"Guys! Enough with the lover's spat, we're going to get caught. Winona, just do as you see fit. Wallace, we gotta go, or we're going to lose our chance," Autumn cuts into their argument, giving her brother a firm stare.

"Fine," he concedes, narrowing his eyes at her. But his gaze softens when he turns to Winona. "Wait for our lack of communication, and _please_ be careful."  
"Of course," she smiles sweetly, and for a moment, his breath stops.

"Come on," Autumn interrupts the moment with a gentle tug.

The warehouse is, to be blunt, old. Part of the roof is falling, and the windows are boarded up with wood that is slowly falling apart. Plants have grown across the building looking like green veins zipping upwards. Garbage litters the ground, and from the looks of the empty back side, a section of the east wall is partially gone. It looks like it fell away a long time ago, and Team Terra didn't want to make a scene fixing everything.

No guards are found outside, and there are sounds of work being done within the building: clatter of metal, the wail of drills, and shouts of orders. Wallace motions for Autumn to stop, he quickly scans the area and finds it unguarded, which is a bit sketchy. Flicking his wrist out, Wallace takes ofF at a jog to the side of the building, Autumn right behind.

"This is actually a good cover, but why here?" Wallace whispers to his sister as they inch along the wall. "This building is one battle away from collapsing."

"They must be desperate," she whispers back as he pulls out his gear and wraps it around his ear. He hands another set to Autumn and then starts his up with a push of a button to allow live feed back to base. He murmurs a few bits of information about his location and what seems to be going on.

"Stay low and follow my lead," he orders Autumn before kneeling down on his haunches and ambling forward.

Autumn tries to quiet down her pounding heart while keeping in step with Wallace. She does a much better time of keeping quiet this time. Around back, they come upon a group of about four storage containers and numerous metal crates. From the trucks, grunts run in and out holding small boxes with unknown contents. After the trucks are emptied, they speed out and go back the way they came.

Keeping their backs to the storage containers, Wallace keeps an eye out for grunts and signals his sister to roll by and hide behind a crate. Autumn vigorously shakes her head, too nervous of being caught. He rolls his eyes at her. It's a challenge, and of course, she is going to accept.

Gritting her teeth, Autumn takes a quick peek and finds two guards talking distractedly to each other a few feet ahead of her. It's going to be really easy, no one is watching the area, and the crate really isn't that far away. Wallace helps her get into position to roll to the other side, and after one last look around, he nudges her forward.

At once, Autumn braces her shoulders for the impact and puts her hands out to push her head over heels in the margin of space to her goal. Quieting her racing breath, Autumn pushes her shoulders into the heavy crate to calm herself. With her heart pumping and hair becoming plastered to her sweaty forehead, Wallace gives her a thumbs up and a smirk before surveying the grunts and explaining to Jenny what's going on.

Autumn rests against the crate, taking a quick moment to settle down and get back in her ninja mode. Her eyes fall on another container in front of her, this one slightly different than the others. This one is white with a large blue cloud logo and the large cursive 'M', just like the truck waltzing by earlier. Only this time, Autumn can read the fine print just under the letter: 'Mikuri Mechanics'.

"Wallace!" she whispers harshly to him before clamping her hand over her mouth.

"What?" he gives her a firm look to hush her up.

With one hand on her mouth, she points to the crate in front of her. He finishes his conversation with Jenny and rushes over, though with more grace than his sister. He puts an arm on her shoulder and gazes at the container in front of them.

"_What is it?_" Autumn's headset crackles to life, and Jenny's voice comes through firmly.

"It's a storage container...with our dad's company logo on it," she explains, a slight tremor in her voice.

"_Don't worry about that now, keep going._"

"Come on," Wallace turns away from the container and peers over the edge of the crate. "We have to get into the warehouse. There is a passageway from here behind the row of crates that can get us inside. Right up along that wall, right there, is our goal."

Autumn follows his finger to the back wall of the warehouse. It's really torn apart inside of it, and she wonders what happened. There seemed to be a second floor, but it is nothing but a precarious walk way that is partially stable. The back door is blocked off by rubble, and speaking of rubble, there are piles of it everywhere inside. Mounds of rubble are pushed aside for the crates that the grunts are now moving out to the trucks to be thrown away.

Keeping their shoulders hunched, Autumn and Wallace duck and crawl to a spot close to a stairwell surrounded by large chunks of brick. Ducking behind a piece of broken wall, Autumn hears the loud buzz of a laser followed by a crackling sound like a fire on a summer night. She resists the urge to stand up for a peek, and follows her brother's orders to stay quiet and follow him.

He guides her up a broken stairwell, her steps lightly echoing in the concrete cage around them. At the top, it's empty and void of any cameras or people to spot their new hiding place. Wallace sits at the edge of the walkway, where wall meets metal railing, and pulls out binoculars from his hidden side pack. The view from their position is perfect to see exactly what they're doing, Autumn frowns at his sudden need for binoculars. He can't be that old.

"These will enhance details on their monitors, record them and also send them to base," Wallace catches her frown and explains.

"Oh... I knew that," she scoffs knowingly.

Turning her head, her eyes focus on the commotion below in the middle of a designated circle. All the rubble and equipment was cleared to designate an area in which all the action would be happening. Within it, lies a group of men and women in white lab coats rushing around working on multiple large rings. They kind of remind Autumn of hula hoops but for giants.

The laser is being operated by a man with dark hair and rounded goggles, like bug eyes, to weld the rings components in. Behind him is a monitor glowing with blurbs of barely visible, to her eyes, data that is surely important. Wallace quickly catches sight and makes a quick recording.

"It says they are 95% done with whatever it is they're doing. There's a map too that indicates three different parts of Hoenn and one of them is this route," he pulls away from the view and turns to his sister. "From whatever I saw, these rings are how they're capturing the Regis, and we need to stop this operation right away."

"Let's do that now," Autumn pulls out one of her pokeballs.

"Don't be hasty, sis," Wallace puts his hand on hers, lowering it. "We can't risk anything with Registeel so close and their project almost done."

"Okay..."

"Not only does our attack have to be a surprise, but we can't let them get away."

"Oh!" Autumn's eyes brighten with realization. "How about we attack from above?"

"You mean Winona, don't you?" he facepalms exasperatedly.

"Wallace, you can't treat her like a baby," Autumn scolds him lightly. "She has a giant Skarmory, does she not? If she were to drop in from above, they wouldn't be expecting it, and then we can cut the power line and surround the area around here."

"I can't help that I worry for her," he defends himself indignantly. "Anyways, that's easier said than done."

"Well, maybe she will have a better idea," she replies indignantly, crossing her arms.

"Fine... Winona?" Wallace calls through the receiver, a slight smile on his face. "We have a question."

_**OoOoOoO**_

"Alright, I'm ready," Autumn settles into her new hiding spot on the opposite side of the room from Wallace on the ground floor.

"_Wait for Winona_," Wallace instructs from their earlier spot.

Not much has changed in the situation below, although working speed slowed down when the scientists started arguing over testing out the rings even though they're not finished. Their shouts had jolted Autumn out of her trek through the room to her new spot, nearly causing her to be seen if it had not been for Tabitha barging through the opening of the building, eyes blazing angrily. He finished their argument and got them back to work within minutes, his voice booming with impatience.

Now they're just getting their finishing touches, much to Wallace's dismay across the room. The plan is for Winona to drop in from the ceiling, hopefully damaging the rings a bit to delay their use, and in the confusion, she and her brother will release their pokemon to round up whomever they can get. That is, of course, if Winona doesn't get caught in the sky...

"Sir, in coming!" a grunt tries to warn Tabitha, but the crashing of bricks, metal and cement interrupt his call.

Autumn is momentarily stunned by the sound and worried that the whole building will crash. Why hadn't they thought of that?

But the building is sturdier than it looks. It stays standing except for the poor collapsing ceiling. Skarmory's silver body crashes down, threatening to squash the scientists in their cleared area along with the mass of broken ceiling. That being her cue, Autumn gets up to throw Gardevoir's ball in the air.

Except, there's one problem. Instead of destroying the work area like they hoped, the rubble, and Skarmory, are deflected by a blue dome popping up over the rings and people. Autumn freezes in her spot, Wallace dives to catch Winona as she's thrown from her pokemon's back, and Skarmory slides off to the side, most of the debris landing on her.

"Ha! That was a nice try, G-men, I was almost scared for a second!" Tabitha cracks up as if it's the joke of the century. "You really haven't gotten the idea yet, have you? We're new and improved, we're not the little jokes we were before! But you'll never see that, you all think you're better than us."

"No, just you," Autumn blurts out, though only half regretting it. And then his dark eyes meet hers in an empty, bone chilling gaze.

"So, we meet again?" he grins at her. She shivers involuntarily at the emptiness in his smile. "You want to know our secret? How we were able to pull off this little trick?"

Autumn wordlessly nods at him, not trusting her voice to be strong. She's not scared of Tabitha, she's scared of the situation they're in. How are they going to get out of this now that they've been found out?

"Look down," he points to the earth below. Autumn is hesitant to do so, so Tabitha throws his hands up in surrender. "Don't worry, I promise I won't attack."

Glancing at her brother, who's holding Winona protectively next to him, Wallace gives her the okay to look. She inches closer to the border of the crate she climbed on and peers over the edge. To her surprise, there are a multitude of holes that were drilled through the linoleum floor and out pop Diglett and Dugtrio alike: all of them using Protect. That explains the speed of the dome covering the lab. Diglett and Dugtrio can pop in and out of the earth at the speed of light!

"How...clever," she allows herself to commend them. "Got any other tricks? Preferably a disappearing act?"

"I missed your dark humor very much, it's a lot like mine," he winks playfully and her face turns beet red.

"I'm taken," she huffs at him, holding out her pokeball and tossing it into the air. "I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate scum like you."

"Ever heard of cheating?" he grins that cruel grin and flings his own ball into the air. "Mightyena, let's try and persuade her."

"Hold 'em off, Autumn!" Wallace shouts to her, but she is too angry to listen.

"Gardevoir, ignore the disadvantage, you can do it," she encourages her pokemon with clenched fists. "Swift!"

"Protect, and then Dark Pulse!" he counters with confidence before turning to the grunts. "Make sure the other two don't get away. Finish up the project, now!"

Everything around them sets into motion, Autumn forces herself to concentrate on the battle before her. If she gets distracted, who knows what Tabitha will do with her, and she does _not_ want to find out. He's gross and creepy.

"Gardevoir, dodge his attack and use Energy Ball!"

With a graceful leap over the dark purple rings, Gardevoir creates a sparkling green orb between her hands and thrusts it at Mightyena. The dark type rolls out of the way, only to get hit by barrage of more. Autumn beams at her pokemon proudly while Tabitha grinds his teeth angrily.

"Swagger!" he yells out.

"Dodge it!"

Autumn glances away for just a moment to find her brother battling one of the scientists as grunts scramble to get everything set. Winona is struggling to battle with just one pokemon as grunts close in on her. One by one the rings are okayed to go and are snatched up by grunts who then dash out of the danger zone.

A cry of pain alerts Autumn back to her own situation. Gardevoir hits the ground from a brutal Dark Pulse. Her heart pounds against her chest as she tries to come up with a plan.

"Gardevoir, return!" she quickly retrieves her most trusted pokemon, saving her from another beating. "Aggron, we've got to clear this room."

Tabitha opens his mouth to say something, but Aggron's roar shuts him up promptly. The roar is loud enough to stun a few grunts into stopping, giving her brother enough time to flood the place with a sudden Water Pulse. Aggron protects him and his trainer from the oncoming wave and watches as Mightyena and Tabitha are caught in its swirl, but only for a moment. The attack creates a new hole in the wall, allowing the admin to escape and further their plan.

"You guys go on ahead, I'll get stuff cleaned up here!" Winona calls out to the two, she's already started trussing up some grunts. "I'll tell Jenny, _go_!"

"Wallace," Autumn rushes over to him, tripping a few times on the slippery floor.

"We're taking a League pokemon," he informs her, looking pointedly at Aggron, Milotic has already been put away.

"Oh, right," she fumbles for his pokeball. "Now we can go."

_**OoOoOoO**_

"_Back up is on the way,_" Jenny alerts Wallace as the two follow Team Terra helicopters on the league's Salamence.

"We're not going to wait for them. They're after Registeel and they're not going to wait either," he replies to her, also informing Autumn of his plan.

Salamence's broad wings beat against the air, rushing them forward at an alarming speed to catch up to the copters. It is only a matter of time before an explosion rocks the earth below and sends black smoke up into the air. This causes the dragon type to move faster; Autumn and Wallace hunch down to prevent themselves from flying off his back.

Descending closer to the ground, Autumn watches below, grunts are everywhere trying to secure the area while the Ancient Tomb sits below, a plume of black smoke rising steadily in the air. Wallace suddenly shifts Salamence so Autumn's side is a few feet above the ground before shoving her off. She hits the ground with a grunt and glares up at him, only to see Salamence dodging a Hyper Beam from a Flygon.

"Get inside, I'll cover you!" Wallace shouts to his sister.

"Aggron, I need you!" she lets out her second largest pokemon.

The converging grunts back off for a moment as Aggron lets out a piercing roar, enough time for Autumn to get part way to the entrance. Her pokemon slams his tail on the ground and fends them off by sending large stones into the ground in front of them, effectively sealing off the front entrance from grunts.

Up above, Wallace has an aerial battle with an unrecognizable man, possibly another grunt. Panicked and unsure of what to do, Autumn debates sending out Altaria when Wallace's voice speaks into her ear.

"Go inside... Flamethrower! And try to stop them from getting Registeel, I'll help you as soon... Dodge it! Bank left! As soon as I can!"

"Alright, be careful," she pleads helplessly.

Turning to face the front entrance, Autumn gathers her courage. Aggron nudges her with his sharp nose. With a nod, they take off into the cavern, its looming entrance crumbling bit by bit. The braille scrawled across the rock was destroyed from the explosion, making Autumn's heart clench with worry.

Passing through the first large chamber, just like the Sealed Chamber, it's illuminated by an unseen source. Autumn can hear the echo of fighting just down the long corridor ahead of her. A strange, low gurgling sound reverberates off the walls, it's an inhuman sound which can only mean one thing: Team Terra has found Registeel.

"Gardevoir, Altaria, I'm going to need your help," Autumn continues running, her pokemon keeping up around her.

The corridor is dark and ominous, even scary with the shouts and flashes of light illuminating it often. She pauses at the end of the walkway, her pokemon wait behind for any order, to try and come up with a good plan. Up above a helicopter hovers above the opening Terra made, while on the ground floor Tabitha and Shelly struggle to get Registeel weakened.

Despite the severity of the situation, Autumn is taken aback by the sight of a legendary pokemon. Registeel's hulking mass is surprisingly flexible and sturdy against even a paired attacked from Tabitha and Shelly's Rhydon. The gurgling sounds are coming from it and seem to be the only sounds it's able to make. Its power is astounding as well, with each attack from the dual Rhydon, they're either blocked by Iron Defense or counterattacked by Iron Head. Steven would have loved this.

_We've got to get those two out of here and get rid of that helicopter... What would Wallace do?_ Autumn glances from the battle back to her pokemon.

"Altaria, I've decided you should go help Wallace outside, listen to what he says," her pokemon flies off without a second thought. "You two come with me, we have to interfere with the rings and the battle."

Turning her back to her pokemon, she creeps into the room, nodding for Gardevoir to stand off to the side. Pulling out Vaporeon's pokeball, she hopes that this plan, if it can be called that, really helps.

"Vaporeon, Hydro Pump on the two Rhydon! Aggron, separate us from them!" Autumn calls out quickly, distracting the two humans for the moment.

"You again, yo-!" Shelly grits her teeth before tumbling away to dodge the falling stones piling up in front of them.

Aggron concentrates real hard to get each stone bigger than the last, and Vaporeon blasts the two biped pokemon back to their trainers. Gardevoir and Autumn join Registeel's side as the rocks stop falling and, for now, Autumn concentrates on the helicopter. The steel type watches her warily, making her nervous. If it attacks, she's not going to retaliate, it could make things worse.

"Get it out of here with Psychic," Autumn glances at Gardevoir for a quick moment. "Vaporeon, Aggron, be ready for them to burst through that wall."

With a soft hum, Gardevoir's eyes glow light blue, and she moves her hand to the left, away from the Tomb. Its blades slow down, as if caught on something, and the chopper tilts to the side. Autumn can see the grunts falling away from the side opening and lets out a breath of relief. And then, out of nowhere, a giant purple 'x' careens out of the sky towards Autumn and her pokemon.

Aggron stands in front of her, conjuring a blue shield to protect them from the attack. Gardevoir releases the copter from its hold to stand guard in front of her trainer as a Gliscor dives into view. Vaporeon growls and tries to hit it with a few spurts of Hydro Pump, but it's very agile. The rock wall explodes and Registeel, who witnessed Autumn's attempts to protect it, releases a powerful Hyper Beam to deflect the rocks from hitting her and her pokemon.

Autumn tries to keep up with the chaos around her as Vaporeon battles with Registeel trying to fend off the Rhydon. Gliscor and Aggron are fighting aggressively with the flying type swooping down to attack her to distract Gardevoir from the copter. Finally, Aggron's Iron Tail hits its mark, swatting Gliscor right in the midsection. But it brushes off the attack by letting itself go, flying to collide with Vaporeon. Autumn shrieks watching her pokemon cushion the larger one's impact into the wall and hitting the ground with a distinct thump.

"Return!" Autumn cries, hugging the ball to her chest. Gardevoir immediately fills in Vaporeon's spot, attacking the Rhydon along with Registeel.

Gliscor lets out a roar before swooping towards Autumn head on, her heart races at the look of its determination. Aggron steps in between them, making another shield. A growl builds low in his throat as he anticipates the collision. A call is heard from above, and Gliscor's claw glows white. Autumn is confused for a split second, and then it hits her: Feint.

"Aggron! Watch out!" she screams, trying to shove her massive pokemon away.

But to no avail, Gliscor's claw cuts through the shield like butter and punches Aggron with immense force. With her last protector blown away and Gardevoir preoccupied and too far away, Autumn tries to duck. Turning to dive to the side, Autumn is struck by Gliscor's tail. The wind is knocked out of her and she is knocked into the stone wall before hitting the ground helplessly.

Her whole body throbs violently. She twists around, and then cringes at the pain stabbing her stomach. Her vision is slightly blurred from the tears, but she catches sight of Gardevoir heading in her direction as Gliscor uses Fire Fang on Aggron. Unable to take her pokemon's cries of pain, she painstakingly pulls out a pokeball and returns him.

Gardevoir drops to her side and attempts to help her up, slowly easing her from a lying position to a sitting position. Autumn pants heavily, trying to relieve the tremor in her bones as well as the ache. Glancing up, she finds Registeel finally being weakened and her heart is seized by the sight.

"G-Gardevoir, w-we have to help!" Autumn stammers striving to her feet, she feels a twinge in her legs but pushes on.

From above, Gliscor swoops down in front of her, Gardevoir steps forward with a fierce expression on her face. Time seems to slow down for Autumn, a loud popping noise is heard from above and Registeel is surrounded by three rings. Each of them let off an electric pulse and low buzz, one takes a position at the bottom below the pokemon and becomes its foundation to lift it in the air. The other two begin to circle it, one is a bit smaller so they can fit through each other with each spin. Autumn tries to call out another pokemon but is stopped again when Gardevoir's Swift collides with Gliscor's Night Slash, causing a large explosion. She is thrown into the wall once again, this time hitting her head and blacking out, leaving the chaos around her for darkness.

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**I hope you enjoyed that, I don't know why I'll be updating next considering my editor hasn't edited the next two chapters -.- (Lol) So really, until next time! :D**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the late posting! Ahhh! It just got so busy and I can't wait for this week to be done, my editor is just a little behind on editing so it's not like I just wrote this chapter and got it edited today. No, I still have more pending editing and they will probably be posted in a near-later date. Don't worry, I haven't given up on this yet and I don't think I will anytime soon. So please, please, please hang in there with me :)**

* * *

A black ocean swells around me; its water lapping at my skin. I can't feel the cold, but I know it's there. Despite the cold and unwelcoming feel, the ocean is gently pushing me along its surface. But just below the murk, I can hear something: a lot of talking and shouting that wants to pull me under.

What was I doing before coming here?

Oh, right, I was fighting to protect Registeel, and then that dang Gliscor came along... and then I hit my head. I hope everyone is alright, maybe help came along to save the day after I got knocked out. Hopefully I wasn't captured, that would be terrifying, or annoying if Tabitha had to watch me.

My forehead creases into a frown; I need to wake up, to get up and help Wallace stop all this from happening. He can't do this all on his own, and no one else is going to help him. The ocean water begins to ripple, the cold becomes warm, and I'm pulled under the surface and back to reality.

The trip is short and semi sweet. My eyes pop open, and I gasp as if I was holding my breath. My brain pounds against my skull angrily, and my body feels stiff and sore, as if I was practicing gymnastics longer than I should have. Wallace leans over me carefully, his arms doing their best to wrap around me in my lying position.

"Don't scare me like that ever again," he mutters in my ear hoarsely.

"Aww, Wally," my voice comes out even worse than his, like a monster from the depths of a horror flick. My brother quickly passes me a small cup of ice cold water. I welcome its cooling relief down my throat. "I love you too."

"What happened to you?" he smirks, taking a seat on the edge of my bed.

From the looks of the place, it's the League infirmary I'm lying down in. Though the floors, beds, bed sheets, and bedside tables are white, at the door, the edges of a maroon and gold carpet are seen. The curtains that block off each bed to give privacy are maroon, adding to the bland room helpfully. Even the walls are painted a soft gold color, allowing the room to have a warming light shine on our faces.

But it doesn't make Wallace look better. His hair is disheveled and, once again, freed from his hat. His eyes are slightly dull, and the bruises under his eyes don't look any better either, which can mean that I was out for only a few hours. He's changed from his formal clothing to some clean jeans and a blue t shirt. He needs a full meal and a good night's sleep.

"I was attacked by a Gliscor," I answer, pushing down on my palms to sit up. Wallace aids me in my endeavor. My body protests, but I hate lying down and trying to stare at people, it gives me extra chins. "Thanks... I tried to block Tabitha and Shelly from attacking Registeel, but they got through the wall. And then, that infuriating Gliscor decided to keep my pokemon distracted from doing anything."

"And it attacked you?" Wallace frowns, creating more wrinkles on his face.

"Yeah, swatted me into the wall, twice," I shrug it off, not wanting to sound weak. "I'm fine though, it wasn't too bad."

"I'll say! You have bruises everywhere, and almost got a concussion!" he argues, clenching his fists angrily.

"Almost doesn't mean I have one. Besides, I'm tough. It's not like bruises are new, remember gymnastics?" I point out the memory of countless injuries that knocked me out of my awkward stage.

"I know, I just want to punch whoever owns that pokemon," Wallace pets the side of my head fondly.

"How long have I been out? Where's Steven? What happened after I was out?"

"Only a few hours; it's getting late outside. He's on his way. He was at home when I called, so he should be walking into the building now. I found you lying on the ground with Gardevoir fending off Gliscor like a champ. I picked you up and got you out of there before anything else could happen. G-men agents swarmed the place, and we fought to keep Registeel, but then this _huge_ aircraft showed up out of nowhere and took it away. Those rings keep a strong protective bubble around their captors," he explains irritatedly. "You put up a good fight, they made it in time to catch a glimpse of the aircraft themselves and know what they should be looking for. Good job, sis."

"Thanks. What about Dad?" I frown at the other problem.

Dad's trucks were there. Wallace and I saw them, and we know what our dad's logo looks like perfectly well. There's no mistaking that he was giving them the equipment needed to make those rings, and who knows what else? I just pray that he did it inadvertently and it wasn't a conscious decision.

"We ha-"

"Autumn!" Steven's voice interrupts Wallace, and I can't help but turn to the entrance of the infirmary.

Looking very alluring in a black button up, dark wash jeans and scruffy hair, Steven rushes over to the bed. His blue-grey eyes sweep over me to assess my injuries on his own, and he takes my hand softly. My heart leaps into my throat, and I can't help but smile up at him.

"We'll talk later, I have to let Jenny know you're awake," Wallace pats my knee softly, he walks around Steven and kisses my temple, he nods at Steven before leaving the infirmary.

"What happened?" Steven touches my face with his other hand, his caress warms my cheeks and makes me happy.

I explain the mission to him , the warehouse, my dad's trucks, the rings using the schematics from Devon, and Registeel. It feels good to talk to Steven. Though he doesn't like much of what he's hearing, I'm glad he's here now. His presence is very comforting and makes me feel safe. Though there is a lot of crap ahead of us; two major companies being connected in someway to Team Terra in which the children of the company owners are among Hoenn's top protectors or, in my case, famous.

"It's going to be fine, I'm sure your dad had no idea," Steven reassures me, planting a kiss on my knuckles. "Are you hungry? Do you want me to go get you something?"

"I want to get the heck out of here," I reply, sitting up even further to move my legs around him.

"I would wait for Joy's approval."

"She's not even a human doctor."

"This one studied to be a human doctor for a while."

"I didn't think they're allowed to do that!"

"They're not a religion, Autumn. It's just a tradition."

"Don't use that tone with me," I scold him, and he scoffs, pushing me down to lean back on the pillow.

"I would just wait it out," he suggests, leaning forward to kiss my cheek, but I turn my head and capture his lips. He lets out a chuckle but doesn't pull away, instead he presses his lips against mine carefully. My hands find the front of his shirt and hold on tight. He braces himself, putting his hands on either side of my shoulders. With my eyes closed, I feel our rhythm and savor it.

"Hand check!" Wallace's voice cuts through the heat. Steven stops but doesn't completely pull away.

He keeps his forehead on mine while raising his hands into the air. I slide mine over and past his shoulders. We chuckle giddily, sitting up straight as Wallace and Nurse Joy approach. She smiles politely at us. Maybe she's used to couples getting a bit friendly in here, after all, a lot of people find it romantic for their lover to visit them in the hospital.

"How are you feeling?" Joy interrupts my rambling thoughts.

I answer her questions without snark, though nothing can be said for Wallace's under the breath comments and Steven's rebuttals. I'm cleared and told to take it easy for the rest of the day. My pokemon were healed up after the fight and got their rest while I was out. Vaporeon had the most time in the examination room. Poor girl, she's as bruised as me, and she did a wonderful job protecting Registeel too.

Wallace and Steven have a tiny spat about helping me to the bathroom to change, my brother wins because he plays the whole 'I'm her brother, she should be under my watch' card. I end the fight after that, telling Steven he can help me later. But, of course, Wallace takes that to the gutter for a swim.

"Way to be subtle, sis," he rolls his eyes at me playfully.

"Take it whatever way you want, Wally," I jokingly smack his arm while pulling on some sweatpants and one of Steven's t shirts with a Metagross on it wearing nerdy glasses, it's one of my favorites that he brought with him. "Now what are we going to do?"

"For the moment, Jenny is keeping the skies clear and protecting the two other sights from Terra. _You_ need to get some food in you, and we're going to go interrogate Dad tomorrow," Wallace explains as we leave the infirmary.

Steven slips his hand into mine, warmth spreads up my arm, and he matches my pace down the hallway. The thought of seeing Dad and accusing him of helping out the enemy is a scary thought. My mind returns to the night of the party at Devon and Steven's words of him showing confusion and hurt. Is he going to bring it up after the interrogation? Will he be mad? Will he yell at me?

"It's going to be fine," Wallace misreads my wrinkled nose expression. "It's not like he's going to lash out or anything."

"Right," I scoff before perking up. "Where's Winona?"

"She's home. She got checked in here, gave her report, and got sent home," Wallace looks away timidly. It's adorable to see him like this.

"Did you say goodbye to her?" I shake my shoulders at him giddily. Steven watches us with amusement.

"That's none of your business," my brother replies with a firm jerk of his arms as he crosses them.

"Uh, our business is sometimes your business and was your business before we even had business! So, yeah it is," I argue, stopping short of my brother. "Come on."  
"_Yes,_ okay? I took care of her and stuff," his cheeks burn up, I squeal excitedly while Steven covers his laugh with a cough. "Ugh, I'm going to my office."

"No, Wallace," I reach out, grasping his wrist tightly. I plead with my eyes, my sisterly heart reaches out to him. "I want you to come home with us, eat dinner, and sleep. You need it."

"I can't, Auttie, I have work an-"

"It's no problem," Steven interjects, squeezing my hand thoughtfully. "You look bone tired and we have more than enough room for you."

"Please, Wally? I'm worried about you," I squeeze his wrist, pushing my lower lip upwards to bait him.

"Fine," he sighs, rolling his eyes playfully. "I'll go with you."

"Yay! Slumber party!"

_**OoOoOoO**_

"So what have you been up to lately, Wallace?" Steven questions my brother as we sit around our dining room table enjoying some pasta covered in a slightly spicy and creamy sauce.

"Nothing much, work and saving the region with my sister and best friend," he replies, but we exchange a quick and nervous glance at each other. "How's Devon?"

"It's recovering, I'm helping Dad iron out the finer points. He's so fussy about stuff," Steven answers, I've heard that before and it's true; Sam likes things his way and there's nothing wrong with that...Until I've been deprived of seeing my boyfriend, that is.  
"He needs a vacation," Wallace scoffs, polishing off his plate quickly, "but I'm in no place to talk."

Dinner ends nicely with a laugh, and we all clean up. Wallace and I do the dishes while Steven gets the guest bedroom all set up. My brother grabbed some spare clothes from his office before getting here, and now he heads off to take a shower. Ignoring the aches and pains, I change into my pajamas just as Wallace gets out and Steven switches with him. It's kind of funny seeing them act like old time roommates, so comfortable and familiar with each other.

I join Wallace in his room and flop, albeit painfully, onto the plush bed and smile at him as he joins me. He lays his cape over us, his brotherly affections warming me and making me grin at him. Always the one to be loving and kind, I bet that's what our sister is like.

"Do you always think of her?" he whispers in the silence of the house, the sound of rushing water echoes from down the hallway.

"Sometimes, when we have times like this," I gesture to us laying together. "I think she'd be just like you but have my temper."

"I don't doubt it," he scoffs, and then tugs on a bit of my hair. "She'd probably have my hair though."

"She'd probably be able to match stuff with it better," I snicker, knowing that that would be my problem if I had Wallace's hair.

"She's probably got Mom's sense of fashion, like me," he mocks.

"And Dad's stubborn will has to be there..." I trail off, there's one thing hanging over our heads though and I have to say it. "But why don't we know about her? What if she did something to make Dad send her away?"

"Like drop out of school? Maybe she didn't want to go through their lesson schedules. I know I didn't."

"And then, Dad got disgraced by it and sent her off..."

"Or she ran away to live the life she wanted. Maybe she's a professor in a different region."

"Maybe I saw her while traveling, but didn't really look to see her," I comment, turning to stare at the ceiling thoughtfully. It's funny how often we don't really look at the people we pass by, the ones we share a tiny part of our day with.

"Don't think about it too much," he yawns tiredly, patting my shoulder to console me. "I want to tell you something..."

"You love me, I know."

"No, it's about Steven."

At that, I jerk in surprise and glance up at him, what could possibly be wrong with Steven that he'd know first?

"Don't freak out, it's just, at dinner, when he was explaining Devon's recovery, he was all stiff about it. And I know it's a touchy subject, but his brows drew upwards, he swallowed a lot and then covered his mouth."

"Meaning?"

"He's covering something up, I don't want to be the one to start drama, but he's lying about something. And I'm sure it's like a big surprise for you, but I'm worried."

"I'm not going to attack him, because just look at what we're doing. Lying about our sister," I inform him, even if the thought of Steven lying makes my chest throb, what we're doing is no different. "I just want one thing at a time. If things get worse, then I'll talk with him."

"I know, I'm sure it has nothing to do with you. It could be something that happened at work, like his dad freaking out or something," he comforts me, seeming to know the kind of pain these thoughts are putting me through. "Please don't worry."

"I won't," I shrug, pushing away anything unpleasant. "It'll be fine once everything calms down. I'll talk to him, I promise."

"Talk to who?" Steven's voice interrupts our conversation, I whip my head around to see him standing in the doorway in boxers and a shirt. His hair is wet and spiky from his shower and he looks just as tired as Wallace, if that's even possible.

"Our Dad tomorrow," Wallace lies, I force myself to nod in agreement and hide any expression that might give me away. "She's nervous about how he'll react to her being there."

"I'm sure it'll go great," Steven encourages, leaning against the doorframe.

"I'm sure too...Anyways, _I'm_ going to bed, you guys do whatever, but please be quiet about it," Wallace dismisses us. My face grows hot, and he laughs. "I'm just kidding, sis."

"Such a pervert," I mutter under my breath.

I slide off his bed, hug him goodnight and leave the room with Steven at my side. I try not to think about what Wallace said. He would never hurt me intentionally, I know that. I just wish I could have been truthful from the start. That's my problem. I'm too scared of the truth.

"Are you still worried?" Steven wonders, drawing the covers over us in the darkness and enveloping me in his warmth.

"Just a little. I just want to know if he's going to bring up what happened at the party," I reply, glad it's actually part of the truth.

"I'm sure it will be good for you both if he brings up the party," Steven suggests, his hands settling at my waist.

"How so?"

"It'd be the kind of talk that could get him to open up and get you to see why he's treating you the way he does. Maybe something happened to _him_ when he was young that he's now taking out on you," he answers, pulling me close. "This could be the beginning of a resolution for you two."

"I like that idea," I smile up at him. Even though he can't see, I'm sure he knows I am. I reach up and touch his jaw with my hands to get him to look down. "You are such an optimist."

"I try my hardest," he murmurs, I can hear the smile in his voice. "You don't think it will go that way?"

"No, I'm sure it'll be a completely negative transaction and he'll be rude and snarky about it," I can't help but be this way when it comes to my dad. As much as I wish for him to love me, his past behaviour will always loom over my head. "And I hate that yours is a wish instead of reality."  
"One day, Autumn," Steven adjusts us so that his cheek overlaps mine comfortingly, his lips at my ear. "Everything will be perfect, I'm going to make sure that it happens, you deserve nothing less."

I'm startled by his words, he's always saying such romantic things and each hit me deep within my heart. I know that what he says is the truth, I never doubt him and I never will. Whatever it is he is hiding, it must be something important to him and he's just waiting for the right time to tell me. Instead of replying, I pull back and kiss his lips, channeling all my longing for him and my love for him into it. He is truly a crucial part of me. I wouldn't be able to do all the things I do and I've done without him.

"You are too good to me, someday I'll pay you back," I mutter between kisses, my heart flutters at our proximity. I love him, I will never be able to love anyone else like I love Steven Stone, never. If I grow old with him and die with him, then my life would be utterly complete and perfect.

"You already have," he murmurs, pulling me against him, his lips pulling away and grazing my forehead. "You are here with me everyday, waiting for me and I couldn't ask for more. I love you."

"I love you too."

And with that, I settle into a deep, blissful sleep within his arms, the place that I truly call home.

_**XxXxXxX**_

In the morning, I start to feel some nerves about seeing Dad, even my stiff body isn't bothering me much. It starts at the breakfast table when Wallace explains how we have to go in there. Usually they don't let family members interrogate family members, but I don't think Wallace would cover up for Dad, and I know I wouldn't.

"I see our classes are coming in handy," Wallace comments after sliding his dish into the sink. "Steven, I think you would benefit from a class...or fifty."

"I like Autumn's cooking," Steven replies meekly, I chuckle and kiss his cheek.

"I don't think classes are going to help his problem," I inform my brother, cleaning off the table and setting the dishes in the sink. "He ruins everything he attempts to cook."

"Oooh, sorry man, maybe in the next life," Wallace laughs heartily.

"I hope so, Arceus knows that I would starve without Autumn," Steven flirts, pulling me into him for a quick kiss."Good luck today. I'm sure your dad is innocent."

"Do I get a good luck kiss too?" Wallace clasps his hands together and flutters his lashes in an attempt to look cute.

"Yeah, call Winona," Steven retorts, picking up his case and leaving for work. "See you guys!"

"He got you," I snicker at Wallace's beet red face. "Come on, let's get this trouble over with."

Dad's company is in Mauville City, a fitting place for a company that produces equipment for machinery, computers and even pokeballs. News of Devon's attack flourished and is still that way, and when news of Dad's trucks appearing at a Team Terra warehouse gets out, hell is going to break loose.

Wallace leads the way into the large building. It's all dressed up out front with a large fountain with a sculpted 'M' in the middle. Long ago, I remember Dad asking Wallace if he'd carry on the family business when he's gone. I also remember Wallace flatly stating that business work is boring and he'd rather do paperwork for the Pokemon League than for business meetings. I wonder what will happen to the company if Wallace doesn't take over.

"We're here to see our dad," Wallace informs the front secretary, and we are allowed through with no problems.

Dad's office is at the very top of the three story building, which smaller than Devon but just as busy. Nobody pays us any attention as we weave around busy workers. We don't visit much, but our relationships are clear. The only person to acknowledge our presence is our Dad himself and that's after Wallace bursts into his office.

"What is going on?" he demands, glancing from my brother and back to me.

"We're here on official G-man business," Wallace states professionally, he straightens his back and I do the same. "We want to know why your trucks were delivering loads of equipment and machinery to a Team Terra warehouse."

"What? I don't recall allowing such a thing," Dad furrows his brows and clenches his fists angrily.

"What was shipped yesterday to Fortree City?" I speak up, keeping my voice firm.

"Watch your tone," he warns me. I bite my tongue to keep calm.

"Dad, answer the question," Wallace shakes his head, his voice portraying his fatigue at my dad's attitude. "She's here on official business too."

"A woman came in here a few days ago, wanting a few parts for computerized tech. Something sturdy that can withstand being thrown around a bit. She paid for the stuff upfront and told me that she would send her guys to drive the trucks, didn't want a big deal made out of some new invention she has," Dad fesses up. "Yesterday, a small group of young men showed up, at first I was nervous, letting kids drive my vehicles, but they showed that they were very adept at what they were doing. So I let them take what they paid for."

"You didn't ask questions?" Wallace presses further.

"Here, I have the business card she gave me," Dad pulls a file out from under his desk and hands it to Wally. "Her name started with a 'C' or something. Candy? Or Corey?"

"Well she gave you her real name, but this company Magmatas, is fake. She's not very innovative is she?" Wallace hands me the card and I chuckle at its lava theme.

"But I had thought that I was just helping a woman make something new, just being considerate," Dad reasons. Wallace stares at him, searching his face for lies. "You can see that I didn't know the company name."

"No inkling at all?" Wallace demands firmly.

"None at all, I swear! I didn't even get all my trucks back. They're gone, completely."

"I'm going to go report this to Jenny," Wallace pulls out his pokenav. "Stay here and wait for me."

Turning back to my father, I try to swallow my nerves and sit down at one of his chairs as he turns back to his computer. I hate being ignored, especially by him, but I won't let him have the satisfaction of me being quiet in fear of him.

"Is the company going well? Despite your missing trucks?" I break the silence, very awkward questions are my style. Way to go, Autumn.

The look he gives me is peculiar, like he wants to start a conversation but his dramatic, hate-me side takes over. His brows furrow again and he purses his lips, at first I don't think he's going to answer: and then I wish he didn't.

"Why don't you ask Mr. Stone? You seem to be rather...close," he comments, my heart begins to pump faster.

"Steven? Of course I'd be close with Steven," I play it off, hoping he's not going to get any more hostile. Suddenly, I wish I could handle being ignored.

His scoff makes me shiver. "It's got to be a father-son thing, you've got them both at your beck and call."

"What? Do you have a problem?" I demand, standing up, keeping my back rigid and my voice tight.

"I realize you have a close relationship with the Stone's, but you could at least have the decency not to address him as your father when he clearly is not."

Despite expecting this, my jaw drops, how can he be so rude about it? What's the big deal!?

"I know that you're my dad, but he lets me call him Dad, too! It's nothing against you," I control my voice so Wallace isn't alerted. "But you haven't been the warmest of dads, what do you expect me to do?"

"I am your father, and you will do well not to talk to me in that tone."

"No, you're getting mad because what I'm saying makes sense, but you don't see it. Sam cares enough to watch my contests at work, play piano with me, and even send me little presents for every Grand Festival that I've won. What have you done?"

"I've given you a roof over your head, food to eat, and an education!" he states icily.

"Spare me your 'loving dad' routine, you gave me that stuff only because you had to. You gave Wallace everything."

"You parade around like you're the only one in the world that matters, and you don't take into account other peoples' feelings."

"You know nothing about me, you go around and talk about Wallace like he's an only child. What about me? I have done stuff just as amazing as Wallace, but that doesn't matter to you. You can't act like you know who I am, you've hardly been there."

My breathing has picked up, my hands are sweaty and my lip is trembling, but I will not let him win. My words seem to have hit somewhere. He's opening his mouth and closing it like a Magikarp. But I have to keep going, to make him feel my pain so he won't forget it.

"Sam loves me like his own, at least he admits it."

Turning on my heel, I approach the door with Dad spluttering behind me, making me feel like I've just won a battle in the war called my family. I shut the door firmly behind me, my chest heaving with relief. The rest of my body begins to ache from being too tense in there, and my head pounds lightly from stress. Wallace finds me quickly, giving me confirmation that Dad is in the clear. G-men will continue the investigation just to make sure everything is clear.

After hearing that, I nearly take off at a sprint to the exit, Wallace tries his best to keep up with me. My eyes are burning, but I will _not_ cry. My dad doesn't deserve to win this battle. The warmth outside forces my tears away and I exhale heavily.

"What happened? I heard shouting," Wallace catches up, resting a hand on my shoulder.

"We were fighting," I tell him, and then explain what happened at the party when I called Sam 'Dad'.

"Wow, he really has a problem," Wallace whistles, kicking a pebble away as we walk around Mauville, my anger still boiling. "Do you think it's because of our sister? This definitely sounds like she ran away, and he didn't approve. He put you through that to make sure you stayed, but he's still not satisfied."  
"I just don't understand. Sam doesn't mean any harm, and he's just..._better_ than Dad," I admit, wiping away the stray tears that fall.

"I know, I love Sam too. I'm also a little guilty for calling him 'Dad'," he chuckles fondly, I keep my gaze on the ground.

"Is it wrong that I call him 'Dad'? I mean, I know that Steven and I are dating and that going a little farther would make me his daughter in-law, but does that mean I have to wait?"

"Don't let Dad get in the way of you and Sam," Wallace stops suddenly and seizes my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. "I know how Sam treats you, I can understand why you call him 'Dad'. There's nothing wrong with that."

"I don't know..."

"You should go visit him," he suggests suddenly, pulling me in for a hug. "And when you get there, try not to call him 'Dad' at all during your visit."

"What are you going to do?" I mutter into his shoulder and he laughs.

"For once, don't worry about me, you've taken care of me already. It's my turn, go and see Sam. I know you will be feeling better by the end of the hour."

"Okay," I squeeze him tight, he did look much better this morning at breakfast. "I'll see you later. Love you."

"I'll call you and let you know what we have to do next, love you too."

_**OoOoOoO**_

"Autumn! Steven is out for lunch at the moment," Sam exclaims as I step out of the elevator on their office floor.

"I came here to see you," I smile tentatively. I feel very awkward despite being happy to see Sam.

His eyes light up and he links arms with me, taking me to his office. "Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

"I'm fine..." I trail off, taking a seat on his comfy chair. It does wonders for my bruises.

"I'm not so sure about that, why the long face?" he leans forward on his desk, his blue eyes full of worry.

Without even thinking, the story falls from my mouth and I can't stop it, something about Sam's look just pulls it from me. The whole time he just nods and smiles, not uttering a single word to interrupt me about my tone. And then, when I'm done, he comes over and sits beside me. He pulls me into him for a hug, the kind of hug dad's give when they don't want to see you stressed or on the verge of tears. It's warm and forces my brain to relax. It's _this_ that I've always wanted.

"I can see why you are emotional about it," he pulls away and wipes my tears away sweetly. "From what Steven has told me, I understand pretty well what your father is like, and I'm not here to be his replacement. No, I treat you the way I would treat a daughter of my own, which I've never had. I remember when you walked in here many years ago, bringing Steven his lunch. You were so curious and unintimidated by what was happening around you, there was something about you that I knew I could trust. And when you and Steven began dating, well, I was more than ecstatic. You are a bright young woman, and that's why I love you like my own. Even if you and Steven were just friends, it would be the same."

I remember Wallace's words of trying not to call him Dad, but with that statement, it's impossible. He is the most supportive dad I have and I don't care anymore if my dad doesn't like it. "Dad!" I whine throwing my arms around him, a new wave of tears hitting me hard.

He laughs heartily, patting my back softly and passing me tissues to clean up with while fetching something for me to drink and eat. For the next hour, we waste our time talking about nothing at all. We pretend to play piano, our voices being the keys, and have little playing matches. It's a bit childish, but it's just what I need, and he can tell.

"Hey, Dad, I got tho- Autumn?" Steven walks in as I finish explaining to Sam what a coordinator did to get a poor score on his appeal on the tv mounted on his wall across from his desk.

"Oh, hey," I wave from Sam's desk, I cleared a spot for myself so I didn't block Sam's view. "Anyways, his Delcatty got a bit obscured, and it was off balance. Marks him down about ten points or so."

"Interesting... Oh yes, the printouts turned out alright?" Sam focuses on his confused son for a moment, I giggle at the question in his eyes.

"Uh, yeah! Yes, they did," he taps back into reality and passes his dad a few thick papers, still watching me.

"Thanks... So tell me, Autumn, if a pokemon faints during a contest battle..."

"They're disqualified," I finish his sentence with a grin. Steven hangs around the desk completely confused.

"What's going on?" he interrupts a further question.

"Bonding time," I answer as though it's obvious.

"Uh oh," Sam states looking at Steven and then at me. "He may be jealous that we didn't invite him."

"Dad," Steven sighs, I giggle uncontrollably. "I was just wondering."

"I think he might miss you," Sam grins at me. "I have work, darling, come back again another time?"

"Of course," I get up and hug Sam. "Thanks, I really needed this...Dad."

"Anytime, love," he whispers, patting my back before letting me go. "Try not to wreck the place."  
"Dad!" Steven calls, disgruntled. I laugh and pat him.

"He doesn't mean it like that," I pull him out of his dad's office, he leads me to his own.

The leather couch is a welcome greeting, I immediately flop down on it and relax into its surprising comfortness. Orange light fills the office from the setting sun outside, giving the room a warm look. Steven's papers are strewn across his desk and over his laptop, but other than that, the room is immaculate.

"So, what happened?" he takes a seat at his desk, I continue to stare at the ceiling, knowing he's watching me for an answer.

"Just..." I take a breath to calm my anger, no need to be dramatic, right? "My dad being, well, my dad. Don't worry about it, it's what your dad is for."

"I know, I'm just worried. I'm allowed to be worried," he responds with a smile. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I kind of don't, I feel so overbearing with my 'Daddy problems', it's sickening to me, and I don't want to pour them on Steven. It's like I'm in a soap opera and this is the only thing keeping the season going until Wallace and I bring up our sister. Still, Steven is giving me a choice, and it feels weird keeping things from him. Example one is our sister, I feel that's more than enough to keep from him. I'll just lay off the details...

"I think he loves me, I mean I love him, but there's... a wall there," I illustrate a wall with my palm facing me flatly. The story seemed less dramatic when I retold it. Steven did some work through it all so I'm not sure if he heard a lot of it, but that's okay, because Sam knows and I think that's what matters.

Steven snorts at my ending comment. "I'm sure it's more than a wall, and here I thought you two had come a long way."

"Same here."

"I'll be here for at least another hour. Do you want to wait here or at home? We'll have a late dinner tonight," I turn to see him grinning at me, trying to cheer me up.

"I'll wait here, I'm so curious as to what you do all day," I twist my body to face him from the couch.

"Yeah, I'll show you." He pretends to get excited before turning to a thick packet, opening it and reading it.

I pretend to gag while watching him read. How can someone read so much boringness without dying? Instead I pick a book of the shelf at the far wall titled '_A guide to steel types_', right next to a book on stone collecting. Just the things someone would expect from Steven, something I adore about him.

Half the book and an hour later, Steven waits patiently for me to peel off the couch from my awkward book reading angle. He seems pumped to get home, eat, stare at his stone collection, and then sleep. I'm just happy we're going to have a normal night together after so long of weirdness.

Dinner is gone just as fast. This time it's takeout. I have yet to acquire the want or need to cook every night from classes. An email from Wallace tells me that Dad's words were true. The money came from an unknown source, not the company he thought it was supposed to be from. I feel a flood of relief that our dad is in the clear. We may not get along but I don't want him to go to jail. What would Mom do? He also tells me that tomorrow will be busy, so I'm to dress appropriately and the press will be alerted as to what's going on.

Jenny is trying to keep our work under wraps, but some of it gets out, and she has to calm the public and press before anyone starts panicking. I'm sure she'll tell Wallace about what we should say when the time comes.

What I really want is for this to blow over, Steven and I won't have to hide things, Wallace can date Winona, and our parents will tell us about our sister. It sounds perfect.

So then, why do I get this dreadful feeling that it hasn't even started yet?

* * *

**Until next time and hopefully that will be soon!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys, look it didn't take me a full month to update again XD So things are starting to get interesting in the world of Autumn and I really like the way I have the rest of the story planned out :) This chapter is a lot of PR stuff then Steven and his mom stuff, you'll find out later why Steven is acting the way he is, I promise. So enjoy!**

* * *

Clicking cameras and chattering voices is no strange sight to my brother and me, but for Dad it doesn't happen often. Our front yard has not seen so many reporters flooding through the gates in so long; it makes the group look bigger. The late afternoon sun hides behind a few clouds, allowing a cool breeze to bring relief to us as we listen to Dad speak.

Jenny called early this morning and told me to be present at the press conference this morning at our house. Steven was called to his own press conference at Devon to clear their own name. It's a vicious process of answering the same questions that are just worded different to find faults in their words. The city's Officer Jenny is present to deter any foul play.

"Any questions?" Jenny announces to the crowd, her voice as sharp as her stare, as if daring any of them to be out of line.

A flurry of questions are shouted out at the same time. I see Dad clench his fists impatiently at their lack of manners. Typical Dad, getting picky over the behavior of those around him. Thankfully, instead of commenting on it, he answers their questions instead, hoping to get them out of here faster.

"What difficulties does your company expect to face in terms of clients?" a shout comes from the back.

"We have already talked with our clients, we have explained the situation and clarified any misgivings," Dad states firmly, leaving no room for doubt. "Only a few terminated any further business. There will be no horrible repercussions from those."

"And what about your home life? Has this strained relationships within your family?"

Now _that's_ ironic! I almost snort and high five the guy who asked it, but with Wallace keeping a close watch on my behavior, it would be impossible. So, for now, I give him the highest of regards within my mind. Dad, however, doesn't miss a beat in waving off his question.

"My family trusts that I would not do something as reckless and foolish with the business. Mikuri Mechanics is as important to them as it is to me," he just emanates pride, now I really have to fight back an eyeroll. Wallace nudges me, I glance up to see his face full of warning.

Thankfully, the funny questions die down, and soon, Jenny is in front of us making a closing statement. Some cameras are pointed at Wallace and me, but thankfully, we're not going to be talking about any of the stuff we're doing. We get to leave that up to Jenny at HQ, she's really good at it.

A few more questions and then the reporters scatter off of our yard and disappear past the gates. Wallace and I duck into the house as a few of them stay to try and catch up with us afterwards, but we're not taking a chance just yet. Jenny says her goodbyes and shoos away the stragglers.

"Are you two hungry at all?" Mom pauses in the foyer of our house. For the conference, she decided on a fashionable dark green pencil skirt with a stark white button up and pearls.

"Yeah, but we'll cook something up quick. We have to head back to the League in a bit," Wallace answers, nudging me towards the kitchen. "We'll see you guys later."

My stomach rumbles with the need for food as we race to the kitchen, Jeffrey is on a mini vacation and won't be around to make us nervous. Ever since we asked about our sister, he's been kind, but there's a bit of an undertone to the looks he gives us, like he's on the verge of either telling us or yelling at us to leave it alone. So, Wallace and I have been keeping our distance a bit to let things settle down between us.

"How about some sandwiches? There's more food at the League," Wallace offers. I take a seat at the island and wait patiently for him to start making food. "What, you're not going to make your own?"

"What? Suddenly you won't make food for me? What happened to being my older brother and having to take care of me?" I pout at him, using the words of my childhood.

"Fine, fine..." he waves my retort off with a mock glare, but I can see the hidden smile on his face as he turns away.

I form a smile on my own and turn away to stare at the kitchen, patiently waiting for food and trying to distract myself from thoughts of my argument with Dad. We haven't spoken much since yesterday. We normally don't, but at least there was _some _exchange when we saw each other. He barely even looked at me today. Maybe he still needs to cool off, though. I'm sure the stress is what made him over react. The party, and then his trucks... The party...

_Oh yeah!_ I suddenly remember something.

"Wally! I have to tell you something!" I gasp, and relay the meeting with Bruce to him. I even fish out his business card from my bag. "He knows something,. We have to talk to him."

"We can't now, it's getting busy. Businesses are on lock down, it'd be tough to get to him," my brother reasons, not glancing away from the squares of bread blanketed with spicy meat, some of Jeffrey's sauce, and other traditional fixings.

"But will we?" I hate the desperation in my voice, and I know that Wallace doesn't like hearing how our situation is.

"Yes, we will, but not now," he glances at me, the determination and pain in his eyes matching mine.

With that said, we return to a comfortable silence as he returns to our sandwiches and I put away the card. I mull over my contest time. Almost a month has gone by here, and I still have five more. But time moves fast, and if I don't start training again, I could very well need those five months to get all the chances I need to get into the Festival. Between that and missions, I'm going to have little time for my brother, Steven, and the girls. And the girls are already on tight schedules themselves. And I can't forget the condition Vaporeon is in. Gliscor hit her hard, and she's still a bit sore. If Terra keeps attacking like that, I'm not going to be able to heal my pokemon in time for a contest.

"Alright, here's your sandwich," he passes me my food partially wrapped in clear wrap. "Let's eat on the go."

_**OoOoOoO**_

"Jeez, Sam looks so tired," I comment, leaning in Wallace's chair in his office while staring at the news on tv.

I got to watch our press conference, and now it's Steven's turn. His happened at the same time as ours, so this is a rerun of it. Steven was major support for his father, backing him up on everything he said and keeping his hand on his father's shoulder the whole time. I wish I could have been there to support Sam, but I had to be with my own dad.

Wallace hums in agreement from his spot at the window. He's holding up a book on the legends of the Regi Trio. It's the one that I bought from that bookstore. I read it a little bit a while ago, and now he wants to just to see if it'll help. Plus, it's an interesting read.

"_We are not plotting anything with Mikuri Mechanics and, er, no we aren't merging with them by marriage of Steven and Autumn..._"

"What!?" I laugh, turning up the volume, Wallace nearly drops his book.

"_Are you saying that Steven isn't going to marry Autumn?_" a female reporter speaks up, I lean forward intrigued by his answer.

I watch as Steven turns red, even on screen it's visible, and I love it. "W-we haven't really talked about it yet and I haven't proposed either..."

Big mistake.

"_Is everything alright between you and Autumn? Why haven't you proposed? Two years can be a long time to some people..._"

The comments go on and on and Steven attempts to control it all, spluttering excuses while I can't breathe from laughing too hard. It's just perfect the way his conference goes compared to the boringness of mine. I love that he's flustered at the thought of proposing, because I know that it's something he wants to make perfect for me. I told him if he was covered in dirt after a cave collapsed and I was scared to death he was dead, I would say yes, it doesn't need to be perfect, he just needs to be there.

"_Yes, I do love her. My dad just meant that we won't be getting married to merge companies, we'll get married for love,_" he's still blushing deeply when he clarifies his father's words. This rouses a group coo from the reporters.

"Wow, he's a sap," Wallace snorts by the window. With a glare, I throw a pencil at his head. "Don't poke my eye out!"

"I was enjoying the moment and you _destroyed_ it!" I scowl at him and turn to the tv only to find HQ Jenny there making closing statements. "Ugh I missed the end!"

"Just more sap."

"Shut up! I'm going to call him and see how he's doing."

"And, now, even more sap!"

I choose to ignore him and walk out of his office into the empty hallway, the Elites are all gone and there are only a few stray agents coming by to drop stuff off for Wallace or pick things up. I walk towards a tall window overlooking Ever Grande City. I put the pokenav to my ear and wait patiently for Steven to pick up.

"Hey," he greets smoothly and I smile at his voice.

"Hey, I loved your press conference, way better than mine."

"Oh, jeez, I wish you didn't see it. They just pounced on me, and I didn't know what to do!"

"I thought it was adorable, though Wallace had other ideas."

"What did he call me?"

"A sap."

"Just wait until he and Winona are dating, then we'll see who's the sap," he announces proudly.

"I'm sure it will still be you. Anyways, I just wanted to see how you were doing," I chuckle softly and lean against the window.

"I'm fine, I've got some stuff to read and file away so I'll be a tad late coming home, sorry," he adds the last part hastily. I feel a slight tinge of pain. Yes, I admit, I wish he was home more, and it's weird that he's had to stay late for so long after the season was done. I understand the attack and then supply of tech and stuff, but still...

"It's okay," I reply with a grimace, I really need to be strong for him, things happen. "I was just going to train for a while and then go to bed anyway."

"I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you," he continues and I smile, the pain subsides.

"Don't worry about it, just don't come home too late. I get cold."

"I won't, I promise."

"I believe you."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

We hang up, and I bite my lip, contemplating his words. I shouldn't doubt him, and I know what he's doing. Work. Extra work to help take the load off of his dad's shoulders which will be a nice payout in the end. I just need to be patient a little longer. Plus, I was without Steven while in Sinnoh. I'm sure I can make it now.

_I need to get my mind off this..._ I alert Wallace to my departure to go train. My brain needs to go blank for a while.

_**OoOoOoO**_

"She sounds pleasant," Angela comments gently, as if Steven will explode with the wrong thing said. "I should go, you need to be with her."

"It's fine, or, it will be, anyway." Steven glances at the pokenav with regret. He misses Autumn to the point where it's almost painful to get home and find her curled up asleep.

He gazes up at the sky from the park bench they're sitting at. Angela showed up long after Sam had gone. This is about their fourth time meeting up in the past week or so since she showed up. And Steven is taking great risks in not meeting up with Autumn or telling her about it. Instead, he covers it up with work. He's going to get caught, and she'll take it the wrong way, and he will regret it.

But there's something painful and raw about talking about his mother's mysterious disappearance during his childhood and then her sudden reappearance. It should be easy to talk about. It's not Autumn, but himself. His voice catches and he feels a bit confused about it all, like a child and he doesn't want Autumn to see that side of him.

"What's she like?" Angela pulls him from his thoughts, he stares at her for a moment, contemplating answering. Her eyes, blue like his, compel him to.

"Autumn? She's, I don't know how to put it, everything, I guess," Steven glances away bashfully. "I hurt her really bad a long time ago, and she managed to forgive me. It was one of my better choices in life. I didn't know that we were getting closer until her brother pointed it out, and he's my best friend, my own brother practically. She's a little bit broken, but that doesn't matter to me. The determination to make things right is what matters. If there is a problem, she will find a way around it. I love her."

Angela stares at him with a mix of emotions she can't even name. Autumn sounds wonderful, but will she ever get to meet her? She desperately wants to fix everything with her son and ex-husband.

"She sounds wonderful," she comments quietly. She's treading in fragile waters.

"She is. Sam is taken with her too. She got him to play the piano." Steven lets that sit in the air between them. He wants her to feel the impact on their lives that Autumn has, that they will be okay with her around, but he feels no satisfaction from the silence.

"How's your father?" she breaks the silence and he glances over at her, at his mother.

"Single," he blurts out. In his mind he wants to see her feel pain, wants her to know what it was like for him and his father to be alone after she left.

It works, but he doesn't feel better when she flinches. "I meant health and business wise."

"Healthy as a Ponyta, and the business is flourishing," Steven replies, looking away, their meetings are always awkward, and he has yet to tell Dad. "He still has pictures of you."

"I still have some of him..." she admits, and Steven can't handle the love that's in her voice.

"I should go, it's getting late," Steven stands up, no longer able to handle this meeting. "I'll see you around."

"I'm sorry, we'll have to have a proper family meeting soon." Angela promises him, he offers her a nod and a small smile before stalking off toward the road. He knows he'll be back, that he'll stay late again to talk to her, and he hates himself for it...

_**OoOoOoO**_

I feel so much better after training. Even though it took an hour to get my pokemon back on the train of thought of contests, it went pretty well. Vaporeon and Gardevoir had to sit out, Gardevoir got tired too quickly, and I remembered that she fought long after I passed out. So now I'm down two pokemon, one of them is my main...

_Breathe, stay calm and breathe, Autumn,_ I lean against our front porch, hoping the sea breeze will cool me down from the exertion of physically getting my pokemon to relax. They all thought I was under attack. Aggron nearly crushed me with his tail, Mightyena tried sitting on me to keep me safe, Altaria wouldn't get off my head, and Gyarados nearly destroyed the house. It was a busy two hours.

Above my head, I hear a swoop of wings. I don't respond; sometimes Pelipper or Wingull like to rest on our roof if they're late to get back to their nests. It's pretty adorable to find a lot of them up on the roof in the morning. Steven gets annoyed sometimes when I feed them because they poop up there or on him. I find it funny.

"What are you doing?" Steven's soft voice suddenly breathes in my ear, and his hands pull my waist back to his. A shiver runs up my spine, and I lean against him, a smile on my face.

"Just trying to relax after training," I sigh, putting my forehead against his cheek. "It was hectic."

"That kind of explains why you're warm."

"They all thought I was being attacked, and I had to physically get them to calm down."

"I bet that was fun for Aggron," he chuckles, nuzzling into my hair.

"After a while I put him in time out," I smile as more shivers run down my back. "You're back early."

"I got tired and left," he tilts my head and kisses my neck, only generating more heat. "I'll do whatever it was in the morning."  
My pain from earlier disappears, and I kiss his cheek. "I'm glad you're home. I hope the repercussions aren't too bad."

"Oh, well," he mutters with a soft kiss.

His stomach rumbles loudly, and I pull away with a laugh, he blushes meekly while I lead him inside to the kitchen. I get some food heated up for him and we set up a little impromptu date in the living room with a movie and drinks. The underlying atmosphere is tense with kept secrets that neither of us are ready to share. My chest aches with pain. I _want_ to tell him so badly, but I need to know what happened to her first.

If that ever happens...

* * *

**Until next time guys :)**


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